{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_1549/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_1549","id":"gutenberg_1549","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1549","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Galatians -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity"],"text":"COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS\n\n(1535)\n\nBy Martin Luther\n\nTranslated by Theodore Graebner\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nThe preparation of this edition of Luther\u2019s Commentary on Galatians was\nfirst suggested to me by Mr. P. J. Zondervan, of the firm of publishers,\nin March, 1937. The consultation had the twofold merit of definiteness\nand brevity.\n\n\u201cLuther is still the greatest name in Protestantism. We want you to\nhelp us publish some leading work of Luther\u2019s for the general American\nmarket. Will you do it?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will, on one condition.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what is that?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe condition is that I will be permitted to make Luther talk American,\n\u2018streamline\u2019 him, so to speak--because you will never get people,\nwhether in or outside the Lutheran Church, actually to read Luther\nunless we make him talk as he would talk today to Americans.\u201d\n\nI illustrated the point by reading to Mr. Zondervan a few sentences from\nan English translation lately reprinted by an American publisher, of one\nof Luther\u2019s outstanding reformatory essays.\n\nThe demonstration seemed to prove convincing for it was agreed that one\nmay as well offer Luther in the original German or Latin as expect the\nAmerican church-member to read any translations that would adhere to\nLuther\u2019s German or Latin constructions and employ the Mid-Victorian type\nof English characteristic of the translations now on the market.\n\n\u201cAnd what book would be your choice?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is one book that Luther himself likes better than any other. Let\nus begin with that: his Commentary on Galatians...\u201d\n\nThe undertaking, which seemed so attractive when viewed as a literary\ntask, proved a most difficult one, and at times became oppressive.\nThe Letter to the Galatians consists of six short chapters. Luther\u2019s\ncommentary fills seven hundred and thirty-three octavo pages in the\nWeidman Edition of his works. It was written in Latin. We were resolved\nnot to present this entire mass of exegesis. It would have run to more\nthan fifteen hundred pages, ordinary octavo (like this), since it\nis impossible to use the compressed structure of sentences which is\ncharacteristic of Latin, and particularly of Luther\u2019s Latin. The work\nhad to be condensed. German and English translations are available,\nbut the most acceptable English version, besides laboring under the\nhandicaps of an archaic style, had to be condensed into half its volume\nin order to accomplish the \u201cstreamlining\u201d of the book. Whatever merit\nthe translation now presented to the reader may possess should be\nwritten to the credit of Rev. Gerhardt Mahler of Geneva, N.Y., who came\nto my assistance in a very busy season by making a rough draft of the\ntranslation and later preparing a revision of it, which forms the basis\nof the final draft submitted to the printer. A word should now be said\nabout the origin of Luther\u2019s Commentary on Galatians.\n\nThe Reformer had lectured on this Epistle of St. Paul\u2019s in 1519 and\nagain in 1523. It was his favorite among all the Biblical books. In his\ntable talks the saying is recorded: \u201cThe Epistle to the Galatians is\nmy epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Katherine.\u201d Much\nlater when a friend of his was preparing an edition of all his Latin\nworks, he remarked to his home circle: \u201cIf I had my way about it\nthey would republish only those of my books which have doctrine. My\nGalatians, for instance.\u201d The lectures which are preserved in the works\nherewith submitted to the American public were delivered in 1531. They\nwere taken down by George Roerer, who held something of a deanship\nat Wittenberg University and who was one of Luther\u2019s aids in the\ntranslation of the Bible. Roerer took down Luther\u2019s lectures and this\nmanuscript has been preserved to the present day, in a copy which\ncontains also additions by Veit Dietrich and by Cruciger, friends of\nRoerer\u2019s, who with him attended Luther\u2019s lectures. In other words, these\nthree men took down the lectures which Luther addressed to his students\nin the course of Galatians, and Roerer prepared the manuscript for\nthe printer. A German translation by Justus Menius appeared in the\nWittenberg Edition of Luther\u2019s writings, published in 1539.\n\nThe importance of this Commentary on Galatians for the history of\nProtestantism is very great. It presents like no other of Luther\u2019s\nwritings the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the\nsinner for the sake of Christ\u2019s merits alone. We have permitted in the\nfinal revision of the manuscript many a passage to stand which seemed\nweak and ineffectual when compared with the trumpet tones of the Latin\noriginal. But the essence of Luther\u2019s lectures is there. May the reader\naccept with indulgence where in this translation we have gone too far in\nmodernizing Luther\u2019s expression--making him \u201ctalk American.\u201d\n\nAt the end of his lectures in 1531, Luther uttered a brief prayer and\nthen dictated two Scriptural texts, which we shall inscribe at the end\nof these introductory remarks:\n\n\u201cThe Lord who has given us power to teach and to hear, let Him also give\nus the power to serve and to do.\u201d\n\n                 LUKE 2\n\n          Glory to God in the highest,\n          And on earth peace,\n          Good will to men.\n\n\n                    ISAIAH 40\n\n         The Word of our God shall stand forever.\n\n\nTHEODORE GRAEBNER\n\nSt. Louis, Missouri\n\n\n\n\nFROM LUTHER\u2019S INTRODUCTION, 1538\n\n\n  In my heart reigns this one article, faith in my dear Lord Christ,\n  the beginning, middle and end of whatever spiritual and divine\n  thoughts I may have, whether by day or by night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 1\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus\n  Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead).\n\n\nSt. Paul wrote this epistle because, after his departure from the\nGalatian churches, Jewish-Christian fanatics moved in, who perverted\nPaul\u2019s Gospel of man\u2019s free justification by faith in Christ Jesus.\n\nThe world bears the Gospel a grudge because the Gospel condemns the\nreligious wisdom of the world. Jealous for its own religious views, the\nworld in turn charges the Gospel with being a subversive and licentious\ndoctrine, offensive to God and man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the\nworst plague on earth.\n\nAs a result we have this paradoxical situation: The Gospel supplies the\nworld with the salvation of Jesus Christ, peace of conscience, and every\nblessing. Just for that the world abhors the Gospel.\n\nThese Jewish-Christian fanatics who pushed themselves into the Galatian\nchurches after Paul\u2019s departure, boasted that they were the descendants\nof Abraham, true ministers of Christ, having been trained by the\napostles themselves, that they were able to perform miracles.\n\nIn every way they sought to undermine the authority of St. Paul. They\nsaid to the Galatians: \u201cYou have no right to think highly of Paul. He\nwas the last to turn to Christ. But we have seen Christ. We heard Him\npreach. Paul came later and is beneath us. It is possible for us to be\nin error--we who have received the Holy Ghost? Paul stands alone. He has\nnot seen Christ, nor has he had much contact with the other apostles.\nIndeed, he persecuted the Church of Christ for a long time.\u201d\n\nWhen men claiming such credentials come along, they deceive not only the\nnaive, but also those who seemingly are well-established in the faith.\nThis same argument is used by the papacy. \u201cDo you suppose that God for\nthe sake of a few Lutheran heretics would disown His entire Church? Or\ndo you suppose that God would have left His Church floundering in error\nall these centuries?\u201d The Galatians were taken in by such arguments with\nthe result that Paul\u2019s authority and doctrine were drawn in question.\n\nAgainst these boasting, false apostles, Paul boldly defends his\napostolic authority and ministry. Humble man that he was, he will not\nnow take a back seat. He reminds them of the time when he opposed Peter\nto his face and reproved the chief of the apostles.\n\nPaul devotes the first two chapters to a defense of his office and his\nGospel, affirming that he received it, not from men, but from the Lord\nJesus Christ by special revelation, and that if he or an angel from\nheaven preach any other gospel than the one he had preached, he shall be\naccursed.\n\n                        The Certainty of Our Calling\n\nEvery minister should make much of his calling and impress upon others\nthe fact that he has been delegated by God to preach the Gospel. As the\nambassador of a government is honored for his office and not for his\nprivate person, so the minister of Christ should exalt his office in\norder to gain authority among men. This is not vain glory, but needful\nglorying.\n\nPaul takes pride in his ministry, not to his own praise but to the\npraise of God. Writing to the Romans, he declares, \u201cInasmuch as I am\nthe apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office,\u201d i.e., I want to be\nreceived not as Paul of Tarsus, but as Paul the apostle and ambassador\nof Jesus Christ, in order that people might be more eager to hear. Paul\nexalts his ministry out of the desire to make known the name, the grace,\nand the mercy of God.\n\n  VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, etc.)\n\nPaul loses no time in defending himself against the charge that he had\nthrust himself into the ministry. He says to the Galatians: \u201cMy call may\nseem inferior to you. But those who have come to you are either called\nof men or by man. My call is the highest possible, for it is by Jesus\nChrist, and God the Father.\u201d\n\nWhen Paul speaks of those called \u201cby men,\u201d I take it he means those whom\nneither God nor man sent, but who go wherever they like and speak for\nthemselves.\n\nWhen Paul speaks of those called \u201cby man\u201d I take it he means those who\nhave a divine call extended to them through other persons. God calls\nin two ways. Either He calls ministers through the agency of men, or\nHe calls them directly as He called the prophets and apostles. Paul\ndeclares that the false apostles were called or sent neither by men, nor\nby man. The most they could claim is that they were sent by others. \u201cBut\nas for me I was called neither of men, nor by man, but directly by Jesus\nChrist. My call is in every respect like the call of the apostles. In\nfact I am an apostle.\u201d\n\nElsewhere Paul draws a sharp distinction between an apostleship and\nlesser functions, as in I Corinthians 12:28: \u201cAnd God hath set some in\nthe church; first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teachers.\u201d\nHe mentions the apostles first because they were appointed directly by\nGod.\n\nMatthias was called in this manner. The apostles chose two candidates\nand then cast lots, praying that God would indicate which one He would\nhave. To be an apostle he had to have his appointment from God. In the\nsame manner Paul was called as the apostle of the Gentiles.\n\nThe call is not to be taken lightly. For a person to possess knowledge\nis not enough. He must be sure that he is properly called. Those who\noperate without a proper call seek no good purpose. God does not bless\ntheir labors. They may be good preachers, but they do not edify. Many of\nthe fanatics of our day pronounce words of faith, but they bear no good\nfruit, because their purpose is to turn men to their perverse opinions.\nOn the other hand, those who have a divine call must suffer a good\ndeal of opposition in order that they may become fortified against the\nrunning attacks of the devil and the world.\n\nThis is our comfort in the ministry, that ours is a divine office to\nwhich we have been divinely called. Reversely, what an awful thing it\nmust be for the conscience if one is not properly called. It spoils\none\u2019s best work. When I was a young man I thought Paul was making too\nmuch of his call. I did not understand his purpose. I did not then\nrealize the importance of the ministry. I knew nothing of the doctrine\nof faith because we were taught sophistry instead of certainty, and\nnobody understood spiritual boasting. We exalt our calling, not to gain\nglory among men, or money, or satisfaction, or favor, but because people\nneed to be assured that the words we speak are the words of God. This is\nno sinful pride. It is holy pride.\n\n  VERSE 1. And God the Father, who raised him from the dead.\n\nPaul is so eager to come to the subject matter of his epistle, the\nrighteousness of faith in opposition to the righteousness of works, that\nalready in the title he must speak his mind. He did not think it quite\nenough to say that he was an apostle \u201cby Jesus Christ\u201d; he adds, \u201cand\nGod the Father, who raised him from the dead.\u201d\n\nThe clause seems superfluous on first sight. Yet Paul had a good reason\nfor adding it. He had to deal with Satan and his agents who endeavored\nto deprive him of the righteousness of Christ, who was raised by God the\nFather from the dead. These perverters of the righteousness of Christ\nresist the Father and the Son, and the works of them both.\n\nIn this whole epistle Paul treats of the resurrection of Christ. By His\nresurrection Christ won the victory over law, sin, flesh, world, devil,\ndeath, hell, and every evil. And this His victory He donated unto us.\nThese many tyrants and enemies of ours may accuse and frighten us, but\nthey dare not condemn us, for Christ, whom God the Father has raised\nfrom the dead is our righteousness and our victory.\n\nDo you notice how well suited to his purpose Paul writes? He does not\nsay, \u201cBy God who made heaven and earth, who is Lord of the angels,\u201d but\nPaul has in mind the righteousness of Christ, and speaks to the point,\nsaying, \u201cI am an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus\nChrist, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 2. And all the brethren which are with me.\n\nThis should go far in shutting the mouths of the false apostles. Paul\u2019s\nintention is to exalt his own ministry while discrediting theirs. He\nadds for good measure the argument that he does not stand alone, but\nthat all the brethren with him attest to the fact that his doctrine\nis divinely true. \u201cAlthough the brethren with me are not apostles like\nmyself, yet they are all of one mind with me, think, write, and teach as\nI do.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 2. Unto the churches of Galatia.\n\nPaul had preached the Gospel throughout Galatia, founding many churches\nwhich after his departure were invaded by the false apostles. The\nAnabaptists in our time imitate the false apostles. They do not go where\nthe enemies of the Gospel predominate. They go where the Christians are.\nWhy do they not invade the Catholic provinces and preach their doctrine\nto godless princes, bishops, and doctors, as we have done by the help of\nGod? These soft martyrs take no chances. They go where the Gospel has\na hold, so that they may not endanger their lives. The false apostles\nwould not go to Jerusalem of Caiaphas, or to the Rome of the Emperor,\nor to any other place where no man had preached before as Paul and the\nother apostles did. But they came to the churches of Galatia, knowing\nthat where men profess the name of Christ they may feel secure.\n\nIt is the lot of God\u2019s ministers not only to suffer opposition at the\nhand of a wicked world, but also to see the patient indoctrination of\nmany years quickly undone by such religious fanatics. This hurts more\nthan the persecution of tyrants. We are treated shabbily on the outside\nby tyrants, on the inside by those whom we have restored to the liberty\nof the Gospel, and also by false brethren. But this is our comfort and\nour glory, that being called of God we have the promise of everlasting\nlife. We look for that reward which \u201ceye hath not seen, nor ear heard,\nneither hath entered into the heart of man.\u201d\n\nJerome raises the question why Paul called them churches that were no\nchurches, inasmuch as the Galatians had forsaken the grace of Christ\nfor the law of Moses. The proper answer is: Although the Galatians had\nfallen away from the doctrine of Paul, baptism, the Gospel, and the\nname of Christ continued among them. Not all the Galatians had become\nperverted. There were some who clung to the right view of the Word and\nthe Sacraments. These means cannot be contaminated. They remain divine\nregardless of men\u2019s opinion. Wherever the means of grace are found,\nthere is the Holy Church, even though Antichrist reigns there. So much\nfor the title of the epistle. Now follows the greeting of the apostle.\n\n\n  VERSE 3. Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our\n  Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nThe terms of grace and peace are common terms with Paul and are now\npretty well understood. But since we are explaining this epistle, you\nwill not mind if we repeat what we have so often explained elsewhere.\nThe article of justification must be sounded in our ears incessantly\nbecause the frailty of our flesh will not permit us to take hold of it\nperfectly and to believe it with all our heart.\n\nThe greeting of the Apostle is refreshing. Grace remits sin, and peace\nquiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has\novercome these fiends now and forever. Only Christians possess this\nvictorious knowledge given from above. These two terms, grace and peace,\nconstitute Christianity. Grace involves the remission of sins, peace,\nand a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no\nperson is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the\nconscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin\ntaken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person\nseeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into\ndebt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual\nliving, however, it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace\nalone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of\nour sins and peace with God.\n\nThe world brands this a pernicious doctrine. The world advances free\nwill, the rational and natural approach of good works, as the means of\nobtaining the forgiveness of sin. But it is impossible to gain peace\nof conscience by the methods and means of the world. Experience proves\nthis. Various holy orders have been launched for the purpose of securing\npeace of conscience through religious exercises, but they proved\nfailures because such devices only increase doubt and despair. We find\nno rest for our weary bones unless we cling to the word of grace.\n\nThe Apostle does not wish the Galatians grace and peace from the\nemperor, or from kings, or from governors, but from God the Father. He\nwishes them heavenly peace, the kind of which Jesus spoke when He\nsaid, \u201cPeace I leave unto you: my peace I give unto you.\u201d Worldly peace\nprovides quiet enjoyment of life and possessions. But in affliction,\nparticularly in the hour of death, the grace and peace of the world will\nnot deliver us. However, the grace and peace of God will. They make a\nperson strong and courageous to bear and to overcome all difficulties,\neven death itself, because we have the victory of Christ\u2019s death and the\nassurance of the forgiveness of our sins.\n\n              Men Should Not Speculate About the Nature of God\n\nThe Apostle adds to the salutation the words, \u201cand from our Lord Jesus\nChrist.\u201d Was it not enough to say, \u201cfrom God the Father\u201d?\n\nIt is a principle of the Bible that we are not to inquire curiously into\nthe nature of God. \u201cThere shall no man see me, and live,\u201d Exodus 33:20.\nAll who trust in their own merits to save them disregard this principle\nand lose sight of the Mediator, Jesus Christ.\n\nTrue Christian theology does not inquire into the nature of God, but\ninto God\u2019s purpose and will in Christ, whom God incorporated in our\nflesh to live and to die for our sins. There is nothing more dangerous\nthan to speculate about the incomprehensible power, wisdom, and majesty\nof God when the conscience is in turmoil over sin. To do so is to lose\nGod altogether because God becomes intolerable when we seek to measure\nand to comprehend His infinite majesty.\n\nWe are to seek God as Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:23, 24: \u201cWe\npreach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto\nthe Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and\nGreeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.\u201d Begin with\nChrist. He came down to earth, lived among men, suffered, was crucified,\nand then He died, standing clearly before us, so that our hearts and\neyes may fasten upon Him. Thus we shall be kept from climbing into\nheaven in a curious and futile search after the nature of God.\n\nIf you ask how God may be found, who justifies sinners, know that there\nis no other God besides this man Christ Jesus. Embrace Him, and forget\nabout the nature of God. But these fanatics who exclude our Mediator in\ntheir dealings with God, do not believe me. Did not Christ Himself\nsay: \u201cI am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the\nFather, but by me\u201d? Without Christ there is no access to the Father, but\nfutile rambling; no truth, but hypocrisy; no life, but eternal death.\n\nWhen you argue about the nature of God apart from the question of\njustification, you may be as profound as you like. But when you deal\nwith conscience and with righteousness over against the law, sin, death,\nand the devil, you must close your mind to all inquiries into the nature\nof God, and concentrate upon Jesus Christ, who says, \u201cCome unto me,\nall ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.\u201d Doing\nthis, you will recognize the power, and majesty condescending to your\ncondition according to Paul\u2019s statement to the Colossians, \u201cIn Christ\nare hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,\u201d and, \u201cIn him\ndwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.\u201d Paul in wishing grace\nand peace not alone from God the Father, but also from Jesus Christ,\nwants to warn us against the curious incursions into the nature of\nGod. We are to hear Christ, who has been appointed by the Father as our\ndivine Teacher.\n\n                           Christ is God by Nature\n\nAt the same time, Paul confirms our creed, \u201cthat Christ is very God.\u201d We\nneed such frequent confirmation of our faith, for Satan will not fail\nto attack it. He hates our faith. He knows that it is the victory which\novercometh him and the world. That Christ is very God is apparent in\nthat Paul ascribes to Him divine powers equally with the Father, as for\ninstance, the power to dispense grace and peace. This Jesus could not do\nunless He were God.\n\nTo bestow peace and grace lies in the province of God, who alone can\ncreate these blessings. The angels cannot. The apostles could\nonly distribute these blessings by the preaching of the Gospel. In\nattributing to Christ the divine power of creating and giving grace,\npeace, everlasting life, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins, the\nconclusion is inevitable that Christ is truly God. Similarly, St. John\nconcludes from the works attributed to the Father and the Son that they\nare divinely One. Hence, the gifts which we receive from the Father and\nfrom the Son are one and the same. Otherwise Paul should have written:\n\u201cGrace from God the Father, and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d In\ncombining them he ascribes them equally to the Father and the Son. I\nstress this on account of the many errors emanating from the sects.\n\nThe Arians were sharp fellows. Admitting that Christ had two natures,\nand that He is called \u201cvery God of very God,\u201d they were yet able to deny\nHis divinity. The Arians took Christ for a noble and perfect creature,\nsuperior even to the angels, because by Him God created heaven and\nearth. Mohammed also speaks highly of Christ. But all their praise is\nmere palaver to deceive men. Paul\u2019s language is different. To paraphrase\nhim: \u201cYou are established in this belief that Christ is very God because\nHe gives grace and peace, gifts which only God can create and bestow.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 4. Who gave himself for our sins.\n\nPaul sticks to his theme. He never loses sight of the purpose of his\nepistle. He does not say, \u201cWho received our works,\u201d but \u201cwho gave.\u201d Gave\nwhat? Not gold, or silver, or paschal lambs, or an angel, but Himself.\nWhat for? Not for a crown, or a kingdom, or our goodness, but for our\nsins. These words are like so many thunderclaps of protest from heaven\nagainst every kind and type of self-merit. Underscore these words, for\nthey are full of comfort for sore consciences.\n\nHow may we obtain remission of our sins? Paul answers: \u201cThe man who is\nnamed Jesus Christ and the Son of God gave himself for our sins.\u201d\nThe heavy artillery of these words explodes papacy, works, merits,\nsuperstitions. For if our sins could be removed by our own efforts, what\nneed was there for the Son of God to be given for them? Since Christ was\ngiven for our sins it stands to reason that they cannot be put away by\nour own efforts.\n\nThis sentence also defines our sins as great, so great, in fact, that\nthe whole world could not make amends for a single sin. The greatness\nof the ransom, Christ, the Son of God, indicates this. The vicious\ncharacter of sin is brought out by the words \u201cwho gave himself for our\nsins.\u201d So vicious is sin that only the sacrifice of Christ could atone\nfor sin. When we reflect that the one little word \u201csin\u201d embraces\nthe whole kingdom of Satan, and that it includes everything that is\nhorrible, we have reason to tremble. But we are careless. We make light\nof sin. We think that by some little work or merit we can dismiss sin.\n\nThis passage, then, bears out the fact that all men are sold under sin.\nSin is an exacting despot who can be vanquished by no created power, but\nby the sovereign power of Jesus Christ alone.\n\nAll this is of wonderful comfort to a conscience troubled by the\nenormity of sin. Sin cannot harm those who believe in Christ, because\nHe has overcome sin by His death. Armed with this conviction, we\nare enlightened and may pass judgment upon the papists, monks, nuns,\npriests, Mohammedans, Anabaptists, and all who trust in their own\nmerits, as wicked and destructive sects that rob God and Christ of the\nhonor that belongs to them alone.\n\nNote especially the pronoun \u201cour\u201d and its significance. You will readily\ngrant that Christ gave Himself for the sins of Peter, Paul, and others\nwho were worthy of such grace. But feeling low, you find it hard to\nbelieve that Christ gave Himself for your sins. Our feelings shy at\na personal application of the pronoun \u201cour\u201d and we refuse to have\nanything to do with God until we have made ourselves worthy by good\ndeeds.\n\nThis attitude springs from a false conception of sin, the conception\nthat sin is a small matter, easily taken care of by good works; that\nwe must present ourselves unto God with a good conscience; that we must\nfeel no sin before we may feel that Christ was given for our sins.\n\nThis attitude is universal and particularly developed in those who\nconsider themselves better than others. Such readily confess that\nthey are frequent sinners, but they regard their sins as of no such\nimportance that they cannot easily be dissolved by some good action, or\nthat they may not appear before the tribunal of Christ and demand the\nreward of eternal life for their righteousness. Meantime they pretend\ngreat humility and acknowledge a certain degree of sinfulness for which\nthey soulfully join in the publican\u2019s prayer, \u201cGod be merciful to me\na sinner.\u201d But the real significance and comfort of the words \u201cfor our\nsins\u201d is lost upon them.\n\nThe genius of Christianity takes the words of Paul \u201cwho gave himself for\nour sins\u201d as true and efficacious. We are not to look upon our sins as\ninsignificant trifles. On the other hand, we are not to regard them\nas so terrible that we must despair. Learn to believe that Christ\nwas given, not for picayune and imaginary transgressions, but for\nmountainous sins; not for one or two, but for all; not for sins that can\nbe discarded, but for sins that are stubbornly ingrained.\n\nPractice this knowledge and fortify yourself against despair,\nparticularly in the last hour, when the memory of past sins assails the\nconscience. Say with confidence: \u201cChrist, the Son of God, was given not\nfor the righteous, but for sinners. If I had no sin I should not need\nChrist. No, Satan, you cannot delude me into thinking I am holy. The\ntruth is, I am all sin. My sins are not imaginary transgressions,\nbut sins against the first table, unbelief, doubt, despair, contempt,\nhatred, ignorance of God, ingratitude towards Him, misuse of His name,\nneglect of His Word, etc.; and sins against the second table,\ndishonor of parents, disobedience of government, coveting of another\u2019s\npossessions, etc. Granted that I have not committed murder, adultery,\ntheft, and similar sins in deed, nevertheless I have committed them in\nthe heart, and therefore I am a transgressor of all the commandments of\nGod.\n\n\u201cBecause my transgressions are multiplied and my own efforts at\nself-justification rather a hindrance than a furtherance, therefore\nChrist the Son of God gave Himself into death for my sins.\u201d To believe\nthis is to have eternal life.\n\nLet us equip ourselves against the accusations of Satan with this and\nsimilar passages of Holy Scripture. If he says, \u201cThou shalt be damned,\u201d\nyou tell him: \u201cNo, for I fly to Christ who gave Himself for my sins. In\naccusing me of being a damnable sinner, you are cutting your own throat,\nSatan. You are reminding me of God\u2019s fatherly goodness toward me, that\nHe so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever\nbelieveth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In\ncalling me a sinner, Satan, you really comfort me above measure.\u201d With\nsuch heavenly cunning we are to meet the devil\u2019s craft and put from us\nthe memory of sin.\n\nSt. Paul also presents a true picture of Christ as the virgin-born\nSon of God, delivered into death for our sins. To entertain a true\nconception of Christ is important, for the devil describes Christ as an\nexacting and cruel judge who condemns and punishes men. Tell him that\nhis definition of Christ is wrong, that Christ has given Himself for\nour sins, that by His sacrifice He has taken away the sins of the whole\nworld.\n\nMake ample use of this pronoun \u201cour\u201d Be assured that Christ has\ncanceled the sins, not of certain persons only, but your sins. Do not\npermit yourself to be robbed of this lovely conception of Christ. Christ\nis no Moses, no law-giver, no tyrant, but the Mediator for sins, the\nGiver of grace and life.\n\nWe know this. Yet in the actual conflict with the devil, when he scares\nus with the Law, when he frightens us with the very person of the\nMediator, when he misquotes the words of Christ, and distorts for us our\nSavior, we so easily lose sight of our sweet High-Priest.\n\nFor this reason I am so anxious for you to gain a true picture of Christ\nout of the words of Paul \u201cwho gave himself for our sins.\u201d Obviously,\nChrist is no judge to condemn us, for He gave Himself for our sins.\nHe does not trample the fallen but raises them. He comforts the\nbroken-hearted. Otherwise Paul should lie when he writes \u201cwho gave\nhimself for our sins.\u201d\n\nI do not bother my head with speculations about the nature of God. I\nsimply attach myself to the human Christ, and I find joy and peace, and\nthe wisdom of God in Him. These are not new truths. I am repeating what\nthe apostles and all teachers of God have taught long ago. Would to God\nwe could impregnate our hearts with these truths.\n\n\n  VERSE 4. That he might deliver us from this present evil world.\n\nPaul calls this present world evil because everything in it is subject\nto the malice of the devil, who reigns over the whole world as\nhis domain and fills the air with ignorance, contempt, hatred, and\ndisobedience of God. In this devil\u2019s kingdom we live.\n\nAs long as a person is in the world he cannot by his own efforts rid\nhimself of sin, because the world is bent upon evil. The people of\nthe world are the slaves of the devil. If we are not in the Kingdom\nof Christ, it is certain we belong to the kingdom of Satan and we are\npressed into his service with every talent we possess.\n\nTake the talents of wisdom and integrity. Without Christ, wisdom is\ndouble foolishness and integrity double sin, because they not only\nfail to perceive the wisdom and righteousness of Christ, but hinder\nand blaspheme the salvation of Christ. Paul justly calls it the evil\nor wicked world, for when the world is at its best the world is at its\nworst. The grossest vices are small faults in comparison with the wisdom\nand righteousness of the world. These prevent men from accepting the\nGospel of the righteousness of Christ. The white devil of spiritual sin\nis far more dangerous than the black devil of carnal sin because the\nwiser, the better men are without Christ, the more they are likely to\nignore and oppose the Gospel.\n\nWith the words, \u201cthat he might deliver us,\u201d Paul argues that we stand in\nneed of Christ. No other being can possibly deliver us from this present\nevil world. Do not let the fact disturb you that a great many people\nenjoy excellent reputations without Christ. Remember what Paul says,\nthat the world with all its wisdom, might, and righteousness is the\ndevil\u2019s own. God alone is able to deliver us from the world.\n\nLet us praise and thank God for His mercy in delivering us from the\ncaptivity of Satan, when we were unable to do so by our own strength.\nLet us confess with Paul that all our work-righteousness is loss and\ndung. Let us condemn as filthy rags all talk about free will, all\nreligious orders, masses, ceremonies, vows, fastings, and the like.\n\nIn branding the world the devil\u2019s kingdom of iniquity, ignorance, error,\nsin, death, and everlasting despair, Paul at the same time declares the\nKingdom of Christ to be a kingdom of equity, light, grace, remission\nof sin, peace, saving health, and everlasting life into which we are\ntranslated by our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.\n\nIn this passage Paul contends against the false apostles for the article\nof Justification. Christ, says Paul, has delivered us from this wicked\nkingdom of the devil and the world according to the good will, the\npleasure and commandment of the Father. Hence we are not delivered by\nour own will, or shrewdness, or wisdom, but by the mercy and love of\nGod, as it is written, I John 4:10, \u201cHerein is love, not that we loved\nGod, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for\nour sins.\u201d\n\nAnother reason why Paul, like John, emphasizes the Father\u2019s will is\nChrist\u2019s habit of directing attention to the Father. For Christ came\ninto the world to reconcile God with us and to draw us to the Father.\n\nNot by curious inquiries into the nature of God shall we know God\nand His purpose for our salvation, but by taking hold of Christ, who\naccording to the will of the Father has given Himself into death for our\nsins. When we understand this to be the will of the Father in Christ,\nthen shall we know God to be merciful, and not angry. We shall realize\nthat He loved us wretched sinners so much indeed that He gave us His\nonly-begotten Son into death for us.\n\nThe pronoun \u201cour\u201d refers to both God and Father. He is our God and\nour Father. Christ\u2019s Father and our Father are one and the same. Hence\nChrist said to Mary Magdalene: \u201cGo to my brethren, and say unto them,\nI ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.\u201d\nGod is our Father and our God, but only in Christ Jesus.\n\n\n  VERSE 5. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.\n\nHebrew writing is interspersed with expressions of praise and gratitude.\nThis peculiarity can be traced in the apostolic writings, particularly\nin those of Paul. The name of the Lord is to be mentioned with great\nreverence and thanksgiving.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. I marvel.\n\nHow patiently Paul deals with his seduced Galatians! He does not pounce\non them but, like a father, he fairly excuses their error. With motherly\naffection he talks to them yet he does it in a way that at the same time\nhe also reproves them. On the other hand, he is highly indignant at the\nseducers whom he blames for the apostasy of the Galatians. His anger\nbursts forth in elemental fury at the beginning of his epistle. \u201cIf\nany may,\u201d he cries, \u201cpreach any other gospel unto you than that ye\nhave received, let him be accursed.\u201d Later on, in the fifth chapter,\nhe threatens the false apostles with damnation. \u201cHe that troubleth you\nshall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.\u201d He pronounces a curse upon\nthem. \u201cI would they were even cut off which trouble you.\u201d\n\nHe might have addressed the Galatians after this fashion: \u201cI am ashamed\nof you. Your ingratitude grieves me. I am angry with you.\u201d But his\npurpose was to call them back to the Gospel. With this purpose in his\nmind he speaks very gently to them. He could not have chosen a milder\nexpression than this, \u201cI marvel.\u201d It indicates his sorrow and his\ndispleasure.\n\nPaul minds the rule which he himself lays down in a later chapter where\nhe says: \u201cBrethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are\nspiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering\nthyself, lest thou also be tempted.\u201d Toward those who have been misled\nwe are to show ourselves parentally affectionate, so that they may\nperceive that we seek not their destruction but their salvation. Over\nagainst the devil and his missionaries, the authors of false doctrines\nand sects, we ought to be like the Apostle, impatient, and rigorously\ncondemnatory, as parents are with the dog that bites their little one,\nbut the weeping child itself they soothe.\n\nThe right spirit in Paul supplies him with an extraordinary facility\nin handling the afflicted consciences of the fallen. The Pope and his\nbishops, inspired by the desire to lord it over men\u2019s souls, crack out\nthunders and curses upon miserable consciences. They have no care for\nthe saving of men\u2019s souls. They are interested only in maintaining their\nposition.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. That ye are so soon.\n\nPaul deplores the fact that it is difficult for the mind to retain a\nsound and steadfast faith. A man labors for a decade before he succeeds\nin training his little church into orderly religion, and then some\nignorant and vicious poltroon comes along to overthrow in a minute the\npatient labor of years. By the grace of God we have effected here in\nWittenberg the form of a Christian church. The Word of God is taught\nas it should be, the Sacraments are administered, and everything is\nprosperous. This happy condition, secured by many years of arduous\nlabors, some lunatic might spoil in a moment. This happened in the\nchurches of Galatia which Paul had brought into life in spiritual\ntravail. Soon after his departure, however, these Galatian churches were\nthrown into confusion by the false apostles.\n\nThe church is a tender plant. It must be watched. People hear a couple\nof sermons, scan a few pages of Holy Writ, and think they know it all.\nThey are bold because they have never gone through any trials of faith.\nVoid of the Holy Spirit, they teach what they please as long as it\nsounds good to the common people who are ever ready to join something\nnew.\n\nWe have to watch out for the devil lest he sow tares among the wheat\nwhile we sleep. No sooner had Paul turned his back on the churches of\nGalatia, than the false apostles went to work. Therefore, let us watch\nover ourselves and over the whole church.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed.\n\nAgain the Apostle puts in a gentle word. He does not berate the\nGalatians, \u201cI marvel that ye are so unsteady, unfaithful.\u201d He says,\n\u201cI marvel that ye are so soon removed.\u201d He does not address them as\nevildoers. He speaks to them as people who have suffered great loss. He\ncondemns those who removed them rather than the Galatians. At the same\ntime he gently reproves them for permitting themselves to be removed.\nThe criticism is implied that they should have been rather a little more\nsettled in their beliefs. If they had taken better hold of the Word they\ncould not have been removed so easily.\n\nJerome thinks that Paul is playing upon the name Galatians, deriving\nit from the Hebrew word Galath, which means fallen or carried away, as\nthough Paul wanted to say, \u201cYou are true Galatians, i.e., fallen away in\nname and in fact.\u201d Some believe that the Germans are descended from\nthe Galatians. There may be something to that. For the Germans are not\nunlike the Galatians in their lack of constancy. At first we Germans are\nvery enthusiastic, but presently our emotions cool and we become slack.\nWhen the light of the Gospel first came to us many were zealous, heard\nsermons greedily, and held the ministry of God\u2019s Word in high esteem.\nBut now that religion has been reformed, many who formerly were\nsuch earnest disciples have discarded the Word of God, have become\nsow-bellies like the foolish and inconsistent Galatians.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. From him that called you into the grace of Christ.\n\nThe reading is a little doubtful. The sentence may be construed to read:\n\u201cFrom that Christ that called you into grace\u201d; or it may be construed to\nread: \u201cFrom God that called you into the grace of Christ.\u201d I prefer the\nformer for it seems to me that Paul\u2019s purpose is to impress upon us the\nbenefits of Christ. This reading also preserves the implied criticism\nthat the Galatians withdrew themselves from that Christ who had called\nthem not unto the law, but unto grace. With Paul we decry the blindness\nand perverseness of men in that they will not receive the message of\ngrace and salvation, or having received it they quickly let go of it,\nin spite of the fact that the Gospel bestows all good things spiritual:\nforgiveness of sins, true righteousness, peace of conscience,\neverlasting life; and all good things temporal: good judgment, good\ngovernment and peace.\n\nWhy does the world abhor the glad tidings of the Gospel and the\nblessings that go with it? Because the world is the devil\u2019s. Under his\ndirection the world persecutes the Gospel and would if it could nail\nagain Christ, the Son of God, to the Cross although He gave Himself into\ndeath for the sins of the world. The world dwells in darkness. The world\nis darkness.\n\nPaul accentuates the point that the Galatians had been called by Christ\nunto grace. \u201cI taught you the doctrine of grace and of liberty from\nthe Law, from sin and wrath, that you should be free in Christ, and\nnot slaves to the hard laws of Moses. Will you allow yourselves to be\ncarried away so easily from the living fountain of grace and life?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 6. Unto another gospel.\n\nNote the resourcefulness of the devil. Heretics do not advertise their\nerrors. Murderers, adulterers, thieves disguise themselves. So the devil\nmasquerades all his devices and activities. He puts on white to make\nhimself look like an angel of light. He is astoundingly clever to sell\nhis patent poison for the Gospel of Christ. Knowing Satan\u2019s guile, Paul\nsardonically calls the doctrine of the false apostles \u201canother gospel,\u201d\nas if he would say, \u201cYou Galatians have now another gospel, while my\nGospel is no longer esteemed by you.\u201d\n\nWe infer from this that the false apostles had depreciated the Gospel\nof Paul among the Galatians on the plea that it was incomplete.\nTheir objection to Paul\u2019s Gospel is identical to that recorded in the\nfifteenth chapter of the Book of Acts to the effect that it was not\nenough for the Galatians to believe in Christ, or to be baptized, but\nthat it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the\nlaw of Moses, for \u201cexcept ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses,\nye cannot be saved.\u201d As though Christ were a workman who had begun a\nbuilding and left it for Moses to finish.\n\nToday the Anabaptists and others, finding it difficult to condemn us,\naccuse us Lutherans of timidity in professing the whole truth. They\ngrant that we have laid the foundation in Christ, but claim that we\nhave failed to go through with the building. In this way these perverse\nfanatics parade their cursed doctrine as the Word of God, and, flying\nthe flag of God\u2019s name, they deceive many. The devil knows better\nthan to appear ugly and black. He prefers to carry on his nefarious\nactivities in the name of God. Hence the German proverb: \u201cAll mischief\nbegins in the name of God.\u201d\n\nWhen the devil sees that he cannot hurt the cause of the Gospel by\ndestructive methods, he does it under the guise of correcting and\nadvancing the cause of the Gospel. He would like best of all to\npersecute us with fire and sword, but this method has availed him little\nbecause through the blood of martyrs the church has been watered. Unable\nto prevail by force, he engages wicked and ungodly teachers who at first\nmake common cause with us, then claim that they are particularly called\nto teach the hidden mysteries of the Scriptures to superimpose upon the\nfirst principles of Christian doctrine that we teach. This sort of thing\nbrings the Gospel into trouble. May we all cling to the Word of Christ\nagainst the wiles of the devil, \u201cfor we wrestle not against flesh and\nblood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers\nof the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high\nplaces.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you.\n\nHere again the apostle excuses the Galatians, while he blames the false\napostles for disturbing their consciences and for stealing them out\nof his hand. How angry he gets at these deceivers! He calls them\ntroublemakers, seducers of poor consciences.\n\nThis passage adduces further evidence that the false apostles defamed\nPaul as an imperfect apostle and a weak and erroneous preacher. They\ncondemn Paul, Paul condemns them. Such warfare of condemnation is always\ngoing on in the church. The papists and the fanatics hate us, condemn\nour doctrine, and want to kill us. We in turn hate and condemn their\ncursed doctrine. In the meanwhile the people are uncertain whom to\nfollow and which way to turn, for it is not given to everybody to\njudge these matters. But the truth will win out. So much is certain,\nwe persecute no man, neither does our doctrine trouble men. On the\ncontrary, we have the testimony of many good men who thank God on their\nknees for the consolation that our doctrine has brought them. Like Paul,\nwe are not to blame that the churches have trouble. The fault lies with\nthe Anabaptists and other fanatics.\n\nEvery teacher of work-righteousness is a trouble-maker. Has it never\noccurred to you that the pope, cardinals, bishops, monks, and that the\nwhole synagogue of Satan are trouble-makers? The truth is, they are\nworse than false apostles. The false apostles taught that in addition\nto faith in Christ the works of the Law of God were necessary unto\nsalvation. But the papists omit faith altogether and teach self-devised\ntraditions and works that are not commanded of God, indeed are contrary\nto the Word of God, and for these traditions they demand preferred\nattention and obedience.\n\nPaul calls the false apostles troublers of the church because they\ntaught circumcision and the keeping of the Law as needful unto\nsalvation. They insisted that the Law must be observed in every detail.\nThey were supporters in this contention by the Jews, with the result\nthat those who were not firmly established in faith were easily\npersuaded that Paul was not a sincere teacher of God because he ignored\nthe Law. The Jews were offended at the idea that the Law of God\nshould be entirely ignored by Paul and that the Gentiles, former\nidol-worshippers, should gratuitously attain to the station of God\u2019s\npeople without circumcision, without the penitentiary performance of the\nlaw, by grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus.\n\nThese criticisms were amplified by the false apostles. They accused\nPaul of designs to abolish the law of God and the Jewish dispensation,\ncontrary to the law of God, contrary to their Jewish heritage, contrary\nto apostolic example, contrary to Paul\u2019s own example. They demanded that\nPaul be shunned as a blasphemer and a rebel, while they were to be heard\nas true teachers of the Gospel and authentic disciples of the apostles.\nThus Paul stood defamed among the Galatians. He was forced to attack the\nfalse apostles. He did so without hesitation.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. And would pervert the gospel of Christ.\nTo paraphrase this sentence: \u201cThese false apostles do not merely trouble\nyou, they abolish Christ\u2019s Gospel. They act as if they were the only\ntrue Gospel-preachers. For all that they muddle Law and Gospel. As a\nresult they pervert the Gospel. Either Christ must live and the Law\nperish, or the Law remains and Christ must perish; Christ and the Law\ncannot dwell side by side in the conscience. It is either grace or law.\nTo muddle the two is to eliminate the Gospel of Christ entirely.\u201d\n\nIt seems a small matter to mingle the Law and Gospel, faith and works,\nbut it creates more mischief than man\u2019s brain can conceive. To mix Law\nand Gospel not only clouds the knowledge of grace, it cuts out Christ\naltogether.\n\nThe words of Paul, \u201cand would pervert the gospel of Christ,\u201d also\nindicate how arrogant these false apostles were. They were shameless\nboasters. Paul simply had to exalt his own ministry and Gospel.\n\n\n  VERSE 8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other\n  gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him\n  be accursed.\n\nPaul\u2019s zeal for the Gospel becomes so fervent that it almost leads him\nto curse angels. \u201cI would rather that I, my brethren, yes, the angels of\nheaven be anathematized than that my gospel be overthrown.\u201d\n\nThe Greek word _anathema_, Hebrew _herem_, means to accurse, execrate,\nto damn. Paul first (hypothetically) curses himself. Knowing persons\nfirst find fault with themselves in order that they may all the more\nearnestly reprove others.\n\nPaul maintains that there is no other gospel besides the one he\nhad preached to the Galatians. He preached, not a gospel of his own\ninvention, but the very same Gospel God had long ago prescribed in the\nSacred Scriptures. No wonder Paul pronounces curses upon himself and\nupon others, upon the angels of heaven, if anyone should dare to preach\nany other gospel than Christ\u2019s own.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. As we said before, so say I now again. If any man preach\n  any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be\n  accursed.\n\nPaul repeats the curse, directing it now upon other persons. Before, he\ncursed himself, his brethren, and an angel from heaven. \u201cNow,\u201d he says,\n\u201cif there are any others who preach a gospel different from that you\nhave received from us, let them also be accursed.\u201d Paul herewith curses\nand excommunicates all false teachers including his opponents. He is so\nworked up that he dares to curse all who pervert his Gospel. Would to\nGod that this terrible pronouncement of the Apostle might strike fear\ninto the hearts of all who pervert the Gospel of Paul.\n\nThe Galatians might say: \u201cPaul, we do not pervert the Gospel you have\nbrought unto us. We did not quite understand it. That is all. Now these\nteachers who came after you have explained everything so beautifully.\u201d\nThis explanation the Apostle refuses to accept. They must add nothing;\nthey must correct nothing. \u201cWhat you received from me is the genuine\nGospel of God. Let it stand. If any man brings any other gospel than the\none I brought you, or promises to deliver better things than you have\nreceived from me, let him be accursed.\u201d\n\nIn spite of this emphatic denunciation so many accept the pope as the\nsupreme judge of the Scriptures. \u201cThe Church,\u201d they say, \u201cchose only\nfour gospels. The Church might have chosen more. Ergo the Church is\nabove the Gospel.\u201d With equal force one might argue: \u201cI approve the\nScriptures. Ergo I am above the Scriptures. John the Baptist confessed\nChrist. Hence he is above Christ.\u201d Paul subordinates himself, all\npreachers, all the angels of heaven, everybody to the Sacred Scriptures.\nWe are not the masters, judges, or arbiters, but witnesses, disciples,\nand confessors of the Scriptures, whether we be pope, Luther, Augustine,\nPaul, or an angel from heaven.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. For do I now persuade men, or God?\n\nWith the same vehemence Paul continues: \u201cYou Galatians ought to be able\nto tell from my preaching and from the many afflictions which I have\nendured, whether I serve men or God. Everybody can see that my preaching\nhas stirred up persecution against me everywhere, and has earned for me\nthe cruel hatred of my own people, in fact the hatred of all men. This\nshould convince you that by my preaching I do not seek the favor and\npraise of men, but the glory of God.\u201d\n\nNo man can say that we are seeking the favor and praise of men with our\ndoctrine. We teach that all men are naturally depraved. We condemn\nman\u2019s free will, his strength, wisdom, and righteousness. We say that we\nobtain grace by the free mercy of God alone for Christ\u2019s sake. This is\nno preaching to please men. This sort of preaching procures for us\nthe hatred and disfavor of the world, persecutions, excommunications,\nmurders, and curses.\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t you see that I seek no man\u2019s favor by my doctrine?\u201d asks Paul.\n\u201cIf I were anxious for the favor of men I would flatter them. But what\ndo I do? I condemn their works. I teach things only that I have been\ncommanded to teach from above. For that I bring down upon my head\nthe wrath of Jews and Gentiles. My doctrine must be right. It must\nbe divine. Any other doctrine cannot be better than mine. Any other\ndoctrine must be false and wicked.\u201d\n\nWith Paul we boldly pronounce a curse upon every doctrine that does not\nagree with ours. We do not preach for the praise of men, or the favor of\nprinces. We preach for the favor of God alone whose grace and mercy we\nproclaim. Whosoever teaches a gospel contrary to ours, or different from\nours, let us be bold to say that he is sent of the devil.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. Or do I seek to please men?\n\n\u201cDo I serve men or God?\u201d Paul keeps an eye on the false apostles, those\nflatterers of men. They taught circumcision to avoid the hatred and\npersecution of men.\n\nTo this day you will find many who seek to please men in order that they\nmay live in peace and security. They teach whatever is agreeable to men,\nno matter whether it is contrary to God\u2019s Word or their own conscience.\nBut we who endeavor to please God and not men, stir up hell itself. We\nmust suffer reproach, slanders, death.\n\nFor those who go about to please men we have a word from Christ recorded\nin the fifth chapter of St. John: \u201cHow can ye believe, which receive\nhonor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God\nalone?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 10. For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of\n  Christ.\n\nObserve the consummate cleverness with which the false apostles went\nabout to bring Paul into disrepute. They combed Paul\u2019s writings for\ncontradictions (our opponents do the same) to accuse him of teaching\ncontradictory things. They found that Paul had circumcised Timothy\naccording to the Law, that Paul had purified himself with four other men\nin the Temple at Jerusalem, that Paul had shaven his head at Cenchrea.\nThe false apostles slyly suggested that Paul had been constrained by\nthe other apostles to observe these ceremonial laws. We know that Paul\nobserved these _decora_ out of charitable regard for the weak brethren.\nHe did not want to offend them. But the false apostles turned Paul\u2019s\ncharitable regard to his disadvantage. If Paul had preached the Law and\ncircumcision, if he had commended the strength and free will of man, he\nwould not have been so obnoxious to the Jews. On the contrary they would\nhave praised his every action.\n\n\n  VERSES 11, 12. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which\n  was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of\n  man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.\n\nThis passage constitutes Paul\u2019s chief defense against the accusations of\nhis opponents. He maintains under oath that he received his Gospel not\nfrom men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.\n\nIn declaring that his Gospel is not after man, Paul does not merely wish\nto state that his Gospel is not mundane. The false apostles made the\nsame claim for their gospel. Paul means to say that he learned his\nGospel not in the usual and accepted manner through the agency of men\nby hearing, reading, or writing. He received the Gospel by special\nrevelation directly from Jesus Christ.\n\nPaul received his Gospel on the way to Damascus when Christ appeared to\nhim. St. Luke furnishes an account of the incident in the ninth chapter\nof the Book of Acts. \u201cArise,\u201d said Christ to Paul, \u201cand go into the\ncity, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.\u201d Christ did not send\nPaul into the city to learn the Gospel from Ananias. Ananias was only\nto baptize Paul, to lay his hands on Paul, to commit the ministry of the\nWord unto Paul, and to recommend him to the Church. Ananias recognized\nhis limited assignment when he said to Paul: \u201cBrother Saul, the Lord,\neven Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent\nme, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy\nGhost.\u201d Paul did not receive instruction from Ananias. Paul had already\nbeen called, enlightened, and taught by Christ in the road. His contact\nwith Ananias was merely a testimonial to the fact that Paul had been\ncalled by Christ to preach the Gospel.\n\nPaul was forced to speak of his conversion to combat the slanderous\ncontention of the false apostles to the effect that this apostleship was\ninferior to that of the other apostles.\n\nIf it were not for the example of the Galatian churches I would never\nhave thought it possible that anybody who had received the Word of God\nwith such eagerness as they had, could so quickly let go of it. Good\nLord, what terrible mischief one single false statement can create.\n\nThe article of justification is fragile. Not in itself, of course, but\nin us. I know how quickly a person can forfeit the joy of the Gospel.\nI know in what slippery places even those stand who seem to have a good\nfooting in the matters of faith. In the midst of the conflict when we\nshould be consoling ourselves with the Gospel, the Law rears up and\nbegins to rage all over our conscience. I say the Gospel is frail\nbecause we are frail.\n\nWhat makes matters worse is that one-half of ourselves, our own reason,\nstands against us. The flesh resists the spirit, or as Paul puts it,\n\u201cThe flesh lusteth against the Spirit.\u201d Therefore we teach that to know\nChrist and to believe in Him is no achievement of man, but the gift of\nGod. God alone can create and preserve faith in us. God creates faith in\nus through the Word. He increases, strengthens and confirms faith in us\nthrough His word. Hence the best service that anybody can render God is\ndiligently to hear and read God\u2019s Word. On the other hand, nothing is\nmore perilous than to be weary of the Word of God. Thinking he knows\nenough, a person begins little by little to despise the Word until he\nhas lost Christ and the Gospel altogether.\n\nLet every believer carefully learn the Gospel. Let him continue in\nhumble prayer. We are molested not by puny foes, but by mighty ones,\nfoes who never grow tired of warring against us. These, our enemies,\nare many: Our own flesh, the world, the Law, sin, death, the wrath and\njudgment of God, and the devil himself.\n\nThe arguments which the false apostles advanced impress people to this\nday. \u201cWho are you to dissent from the fathers and the entire Church, and\nto bring a contradictory doctrine? Are you wiser than so many holy men,\nwiser than the whole Church?\u201d When Satan, abetted by our own reason,\nadvances these arguments against us, we lose heart, unless we keep\non saying to ourselves: \u201cI don\u2019t care if Cyprian, Ambrose, Augustine,\nPeter, Paul, John, or an angel from heaven, teaches so and so. I know\nthat I teach the truth of God in Christ Jesus.\u201d\n\nWhen I first took over the defense of the Gospel, I remembered what\nDoctor Staupitz said to me. \u201cI like it well,\u201d he said, \u201cthat the\ndoctrine which you proclaim gives glory to God alone and none to man.\nFor never can too much glory, goodness, and mercy be ascribed unto God.\u201d\nThese words of the worthy Doctor comforted and confirmed me. The Gospel\nis true because it deprives men of all glory, wisdom, and righteousness\nand turns over all honor to the Creator alone. It is safer to attribute\ntoo much glory unto God than unto man.\n\nYou may argue that the Church and the fathers are holy. Yet the Church\nis compelled to pray: \u201cForgive us our trespasses,\u201d I am not to be\nbelieved, nor is the Church to be believed, or the fathers, or the\napostles, or an angel from heaven, if they teach anything contrary to\nthe Word of God. Let the Word of God abide forever.\n\nPeter erred in life and in doctrine. Paul might have dismissed Peter\u2019s\nerror as a matter of no consequence. But Paul saw that Peter\u2019s error\nwould lead to the damage of the whole Church unless it were corrected.\nTherefore he withstood Peter to his face. The Church, Peter, the\napostles, angels from heaven, are not to be heard unless they teach the\ngenuine Word of God.\n\nThis argument is not always to our advantage. People ask: \u201cWhom then\nshall we believe?\u201d Our opponents maintain that they teach the pure Word\nof God. We do not believe them. They in turn hate and persecute us for\nvile heretics. What can we do about it? With Paul we glory in the Gospel\nof Jesus Christ. What do we gain? We are told that our glorying is idle\nvanity and unadulterated blasphemy. The moment we abase ourselves and\ngive in to the rage of our opponents, Papists and Anabaptists grow\narrogant. The Anabaptists hatch out some new monstrosity. The Papists\nrevive their old abominations. What to do? Let everybody become sure of\nhis calling and doctrine, that he may boldly say with Paul: \u201cBut though\nwe, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than ye\nhave received, let him be accursed.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSES 13, 14. For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in\n  the Jews\u2019 religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church\n  of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews\u2019 religion above many\n  my equals in mine own nation.\n\nThis passage does not contain doctrine. Paul adduces his own case for an\nexample. \u201cI have,\u201d he says, \u201cat one time defended the traditions of the\nPharisees more fiercely than any of your false apostles. Now, if the\nrighteousness of the Law had been worth anything I would never have\nforsaken it. So carefully did I live up to the Law that I excelled many\nof my companions. So zealous was I in defense of the Law that I wasted\nthe church of God.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 14. Being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my\n  fathers.\n\nSpeaking now of the Mosaic Law, Paul declares that he was wrapped up\nin it. To the Philippians he wrote: \u201cAs touching the law, a Pharisee;\nconcerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness\nwhich is in the law, blameless.\u201d He means to say, \u201cI can compare myself\nwith the best and holiest of all those who are of the circumcision. Let\nthem show me if they can, a more earnest defender of the Mosaic Law than\nI was at one time. This fact, O Galatians, should have put you on your\nguard against these deceivers who make so much of the Law. If anybody\never had reason to glory in the righteousness of the Law, it was I.\u201d\nI too may say that before I was enlightened by the Gospel, I was as\nzealous for the papistical laws and traditions of the fathers as ever\na man was. I tried hard to live up to every law as best I could. I\npunished myself with fasting, watching, praying, and other exercises\nmore than all those who today hate and persecute me. I was so much in\nearnest that I imposed upon my body more than it could stand. I honored\nthe pope as a matter of conscience. Whatever I did, I did with a single\nheart to the glory of God. But our opponents, well-fed idlers that they\nare, will not believe what I and many others have endured.\n\n\n  VERSES 15, 16, 17. But when it pleased God, who separated me from\n  my mother\u2019s womb, and called me by his grace. To reveal his Son in\n  me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I\n  conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to\n  them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and\n  returned again unto Damascus.\n\nHere Paul relates that immediately upon being called by God to preach\nthe Gospel to the Gentiles, he went into Arabia without consulting a\nsingle person. \u201cWhen it had pleased God,\u201d he writes, \u201cI did not deserve\nit. I had been an enemy of Christ. I had blasphemed His Gospel. I had\nshed innocent blood. In the midst of my frenzy I was called. Why? On\naccount of my outrageous cruelty? Indeed not. My gracious God who shows\nmercy unto whom He will, pardoned all mine iniquities. He bestowed His\ngrace upon me, and called me for an apostle.\u201d\n\nWe also have come to the knowledge of the truth by the same kindness of\nGod. I crucified Christ daily in my cloistered life, and blasphemed God\nby my wrong faith. Outwardly I kept myself chaste, poor, and obedient. I\nwas much given to fasting, watching, praying, saying of masses, and the\nlike. Yet under the cloak of my outward respectability I continually\nmistrusted, doubted, feared, hated, and blasphemed God. My righteousness\nwas a filthy puddle. Satan loves such saints. They are his darlings,\nfor they quickly destroy their body and soul by depriving them of the\nblessings of God\u2019s generous gifts.\n\nI tell you I stood in awe of the pope\u2019s authority. To dissent from him I\nconsidered a crime worthy of eternal death. I thought of John Huss as a\ncursed heretic. I counted it a sin even to think of him. I would gladly\nhave furnished the wood to burn him. I would have felt I had done God a\nreal service.\n\nIn comparison with these sanctimonious hypocrites of the papacy,\npublicans and harlots are not bad. They at least feel remorse. They\nat least do not try to justify their wicked deeds. But these pretended\nsaints, so far from acknowledging their errors, justify them and regard\nthem as acceptable sacrifices unto God.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. When it pleased God.\n\n\u201cBy the favor of God I, a wicked and cursed wretch, a blasphemer,\npersecutor, and rebel, was spared. Not content to spare me, God granted\nunto me the knowledge of His salvation, His Spirit, His Son, the office\nof an apostle, everlasting life.\u201d Paul speaking.\n\nGod not only pardoned our iniquities, but in addition overwhelmed us\nwith blessings and spiritual gifts. Many, however, are ungrateful.\nWorse, by opening again a window to the devil many begin to loathe God\u2019s\nWord, and end by perverting the Gospel.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. Who separated me from my mother\u2019s womb.\n\nThis is a Hebrew expression, meaning to sanctify, ordain, prepare. Paul\nis saying, \u201cWhen I was not yet born God ordained me to be an apostle,\nand in due time confirmed my apostleship before the world. Every gift,\nbe it small or great, spiritual or temporal, and every good thing I\nshould ever do, God has ordained while I was yet in my mother\u2019s womb\nwhere I could neither think nor perform any good thing. After I was born\nGod supported me. Heaping mercy upon mercy, He freely forgave my sins,\nreplenishing me with His grace to enable me to learn what great things\nare ours in Christ. To crown it all, He called me to preach the Gospel\nto others.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 15. And called me by his grace.\n\n\u201cDid God call me on account of my holy life? Or on account of my\npharisaical religion? Or on account of my prayers, fastings, and works?\nNever. Well, then, it is certain God did not call me on account of my\nblasphemies, persecutions, oppressions. What prompted Him to call me?\nHis grace alone.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 16. To reveal his Son to me.\n\nWe now hear what kind of doctrine was committed to Paul: The doctrine\nof the Gospel, the doctrine of the revelation of the Son of God.\nThis doctrine differs greatly from the Law. The Law terrorizes the\nconscience. The Law reveals the wrath and judgment of God. The Gospel\ndoes not threaten. The Gospel announces that Christ is come to forgive\nthe sins of the world. The Gospel conveys to us the inestimable\ntreasures of God.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. That I might preach him among the heathen.\n\n\u201cIt pleased God,\u201d says the Apostle, \u201cto reveal himself in me. Why? For a\ntwofold purpose. That I personally should believe in the Son of God, and\nthat I should reveal Him to the Gentiles.\u201d\n\nPaul does not mention the Jews, for the simple reason that he was the\ncalled and acknowledged apostle of the Gentiles, although he preached\nChrist also to the Jews.\n\nWe can hear the Apostle saying to himself: \u201cI will not burden the\nGentiles with the Law, because I am their apostle and not their\nlawgiver. Not once did you Galatians hear me speak of the righteousness\nof the Law or of works. My job was to bring you the Gospel. Therefore\nyou ought to listen to no teachers of the Law, but the Gospel: not\nMoses, but the Son of God; not the righteousness of works, but the\nrighteousness of faith must be proclaimed to the Gentiles. That is the\nright kind of preaching for Gentiles.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 16. Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.\n\nOnce Paul had received the Gospel from Christ, he conferred with nobody\nin Damascus. He asked no man to teach him. He did not go up to Jerusalem\nto sit at the feet of Peter and the other apostles. At once he preached\nJesus Christ in Damascus.\n\n\n  VERSE 17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were\n  apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto\n  Damascus.\n\n\u201cI went to Arabia before I saw any of the apostles. I took it upon\nmyself to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles without delay, because\nChrist had called me for that purpose.\u201d This statement refutes the\nassertion of the false apostles that Paul had been a pupil of the\napostles, from which the false apostles inferred that Paul had been\ninstructed in the obedience of the Law, that therefore the Gentiles also\nought to keep the Law and submit to circumcision.\n\n\n  VERSES 18, 19. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see\n  Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles\n  saw I none, save James the Lord\u2019s brother.\n\nPaul minutely recounts his personal history to stop the cavil of the\nfalse apostles. Paul does not deny that he had been with some of the\napostles. He went to Jerusalem uninvited, not to be instructed, but to\nvisit with Peter. Luke reports the occasion in the ninth chapter of the\nBook of Acts. Barnabas introduced Paul to the apostles and related to\nthem how Paul had met the Lord Jesus on the way to Damascus, also how\nPaul had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Paul says\nthat he saw Peter and James, but he denies that he learned anything from\nthem.\n\nWhy does Paul harp on this seemingly unimportant fact? To convince the\nchurches of Galatia that his Gospel was the true Word of Christ which he\nlearned from Christ Himself and from no man. Paul was forced to affirm\nand re-affirm this fact. His usefulness to all the churches that had\nused him as their pastor and teacher was at stake.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God,\n  I lie not.\n\nWas it necessary for Paul to go under oath? Yes. Paul is reporting\npersonal history. How else would the churches believe him? The false\napostles might say, \u201cWho knows whether Paul is telling the truth?\u201d\nPaul, the elect vessel of God, was held in so little esteem by his own\nGalatians to whom he had preached Christ that it was necessary for him\nto swear an oath that he spoke the truth. If this happened to Paul, what\nbusiness have we to complain when people doubt our words, or hold us\nin little regard, we who cannot begin to compare ourselves with the\nApostle?\n\n\n  VERSE 21. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.\n\nSyria and Cilicia are adjacent countries. Paul traces his movements\ncarefully in order to convince the Galatians that he had never been the\ndisciple of any apostle.\n\n\n  VERSES 22, 23, 24. And was unknown by face unto the churches of\n  Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, that he which\n  persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he\n  destroyed. And they glorified God in me.\n\nIn Syria and Cilicia Paul won the indorsement of all the churches of\nJudea, by his preaching. All the churches everywhere, even those of\nJudea, could testify that he had preached the same faith everywhere.\n\u201cAnd,\u201d Paul adds, \u201cthese churches glorified God in me, not because I\ntaught that circumcision and the law of Moses should be observed, but\nbecause I urged upon all faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 2\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem.\n\nPaul taught justification by faith in Christ Jesus, without the deeds\nof the Law. He reported this to the disciples at Antioch. Among the\ndisciples were some that had been brought up in the ancient customs of\nthe Jews. These rose against Paul in quick indignation, accusing him of\npropagating a gospel of lawlessness.\n\nGreat dissension followed. Paul and Barnabas stood up for the truth.\nThey testified: \u201cWherever we preached to the Gentiles, the Holy Ghost\ncame upon those who received the Word. This happened everywhere. We\npreached not circumcision, we did not require observance of the Law. We\npreached faith in Jesus Christ. At our preaching of faith, God gave to\nthe hearers the Holy Ghost.\u201d From this fact Paul and Barnabas inferred\nthat the Holy Ghost approved the faith of the Gentiles without the Law\nand circumcision. If the faith of the Gentiles had not pleased the Holy\nGhost, He would not have manifested His presence in the uncircumcised\nhearers of the Word.\n\nUnconvinced, the Jews fiercely opposed Paul, asserting that the Law\nought to be kept and that the Gentiles ought to be circumcised, or else\nthey could not be saved.\n\nWhen we consider the obstinacy with which Romanists cling to their\ntraditions, we can very well understand the zealous devotion of the\nJews for the Law. After all, they had received the Law from God. We\ncan understand how impossible it was for recent converts from Judaism\nsuddenly to break with the Law. For that matter, God did bear with them,\nas He bore with the infirmity of Israel when the people halted\nbetween two religions. Was not God patient with us also while we were\nblindfolded by the papacy? God is longsuffering and full of mercy. But\nwe dare not abuse the patience of the Lord. We dare no longer continue\nin error now that the truth has been revealed in the Gospel. The\nopponents of Paul had his own example to prefer against him. Paul had\ncircumcised Timothy. Paul defended his action on the ground that he had\ncircumcised Timothy, not from compulsion, but from Christian love, lest\nthe weak in faith should be offended. His opponents would not accept\nPaul\u2019s explanation.\n\nWhen Paul saw that the quarrel was getting out of hand he obeyed the\ndirection of God and left for Jerusalem, there to confer with the other\napostles. He did this not for his own sake, but for the sake of the\npeople.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. With Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.\n\nPaul chose two witnesses, Barnabas and Titus. Barnabas had been Paul\u2019s\npreaching companion to the Gentiles. Barnabas was an eye-witness of the\nfact that the Holy Ghost had come upon the Gentiles in response to the\nsimple preaching of faith in Jesus Christ. Barnabas stuck to Paul on\nthis point, that it was not necessary for the Gentiles to be bothered\nwith the Law as long as they believed in Christ.\n\nTitus was superintendent of the churches in Crete, having been placed in\ncharge of the churches by Paul. Titus was a former Gentile.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. And I went up by revelation.\n\nIf God had not ordered Paul to Jerusalem, Paul would never have gone\nthere.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. And communicated unto them that gospel.\n\nAfter an absence of fourteen years, respectively eighteen years, Paul\nreturned to Jerusalem to confer with the other apostles.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. Which I preach among the Gentiles.\n\nAmong the Jews Paul allowed Law and circumcision to stand for the time\nbeing. So did all the apostles. Nevertheless Paul held fast to the\nliberty of the Gospel. On one occasion he said to the Jews: \u201cThrough\nthis man (Christ) is preached unto you forgiveness of sins; and by him\nall that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not\nbe justified by the law of Moses.\u201d (Acts 13:39.) Always remembering the\nweak, Paul did not insist that they break at once with the Law.\n\nPaul admits that he conferred with the apostles concerning his Gospel.\nBut he denies that the conference benefited or taught him anything. The\nfact is he resisted those who wanted to force the practice of the Law\nupon the Gentiles. They did not overcome him, he overcame them. \u201cYour\nfalse apostles lie, when they say that I circumcised Timothy, shaved\nmy head in Cenchrea, and went up to Jerusalem, at the request of the\napostles. I went to Jerusalem at the request of God. What is more, I won\nthe indorsement of the apostles. My opponents lost out.\u201d\n\nThe matter upon which the apostles deliberated in conference was\nthis: Is the observance of the Law requisite unto justification? Paul\nanswered: \u201cI have preached faith in Christ to the Gentiles, and not the\nLaw. If the Jews want to keep the Law and be circumcised, very well, as\nlong as they do so from a right motive.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 2. But privately to them which were of reputation.\n\nThis is to say, \u201cI conferred not only with the brethren, but with the\nleaders among them.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 2. Lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.\n\nNot that Paul himself ever thought he had run in vain. However, many\ndid think that Paul had preached the Gospel in vain, because he kept the\nGentiles free from the yoke of the Law. The opinion that obedience to\nthe Law was mandatory unto salvation was gaining ground. Paul meant to\nremedy this evil. By this conference he hoped to establish the identity\nof his Gospel with that of the other apostles, to stop the talk of his\nopponents that he had been running around in vain.\n\n\n  VERSE 3. But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was\n  compelled to be circumcised.\n\nThe word \u201ccompelled\u201d acquaints us with the outcome of the conference.\nIt was resolved that the Gentiles should not be compelled to be\ncircumcised.\n\nPaul did not condemn circumcision in itself. Neither by word nor deed\ndid he ever inveigh against circumcision. But he did protest against\ncircumcision being made a condition for salvation. He cited the case of\nthe Fathers. \u201cThe fathers were not justified by circumcision. It was to\nthem a sign and seal of righteousness. They looked upon circumcision as\na confession of their faith.\u201d\n\nThe believing Jews, however, could not get it through their heads that\ncircumcision was not necessary for salvation. They were encouraged in\ntheir wrong attitude by the false apostles. The result was that the\npeople were up in arms against Paul and his doctrine.\n\nPaul did not condemn circumcision as if it were a sin to receive it.\nBut he insisted, and the conference upheld him, that circumcision had\nno bearing upon salvation and was therefore not to be forced upon the\nGentiles. The conference agreed that the Jews should be permitted to\nkeep their ancient customs for the time being, so long as they did not\nregard those customs as conveying God\u2019s justification of the sinner.\n\nThe false apostles were dissatisfied with the verdict of the conference.\nThey did not want to rest circumcision and the practice of the Law in\nChristian liberty. They insisted that circumcision was obligatory unto\nsalvation.\n\nAs the opponents of Paul, so our own adversaries [Luther\u2019s, the enemies\nof the Reformation] contend that the traditions of the Fathers dare not\nbe neglected without loss of salvation. Our opponents will not agree\nwith us on anything. They defend their blasphemies. They go as far to\nenforce them with the sword.\n\nPaul\u2019s victory was complete. Titus, who was with Paul, was not compelled\nto be circumcised, although he stood in the midst of the apostles when\nthis question of circumcision was debated. This was a blow to the\nfalse apostles. With the living fact that Titus was not compelled to be\ncircumcised Paul was able to squelch his adversaries.\n\n\n  VERSES 4,5. And that because of false brethren unawares brought in,\n  who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ\n  Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by\n  subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might\n  continue with you.\n\nPaul here explains his motive for going up to Jerusalem. He did not go\nto Jerusalem to be instructed or confirmed in his Gospel by the other\napostles. He went to Jerusalem in order to preserve the true Gospel for\nthe Galatian churches and for all the churches of the Gentiles.\n\nWhen Paul speaks of the truth of the Gospel he implies by contrast a\nfalse gospel. The false apostles also had a gospel, but it was an untrue\ngospel. \u201cIn holding out against them,\u201d says Paul, \u201cI conserved the truth\nof the pure Gospel.\u201d\n\nNow the true Gospel has it that we are justified by faith alone, without\nthe deeds of the Law. The false gospel has it that we are justified by\nfaith, but not without the deeds of the Law. The false apostles preached\na conditional gospel.\n\nSo do the papists. They admit that faith is the foundation of salvation.\nBut they add the conditional clause that faith can save only when it is\nfurnished with good works. This is wrong. The true Gospel declares that\ngood works are the embellishment of faith, but that faith itself is the\ngift and work of God in our hearts. Faith is able to justify, because it\napprehends Christ, the Redeemer.\n\nHuman reason can think only in terms of the Law. It mumbles: \u201cThis I\nhave done, this I have not done.\u201d But faith looks to Jesus Christ, the\nSon of God, given into death for the sins of the whole world. To turn\none\u2019s eyes away from Jesus means to turn them to the Law.\n\nTrue faith lays hold of Christ and leans on Him alone. Our opponents\ncannot understand this. In their blindness they cast away the precious\npearl, Christ, and hang onto their stubborn works. They have no idea\nwhat faith is. How can they teach faith to others?\n\nNot satisfied with teaching an untrue gospel, the false apostles tried\nto entangle Paul. \u201cThey went about,\u201d says Paul, \u201cto spy out our liberty\nwhich we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.\u201d\n\nWhen Paul saw through their scheme, he attacked the false apostles. He\nsays, \u201cWe did not let go of the liberty which we have in Christ Jesus.\nWe routed them by the judgment of the apostles, and we would not give in\nto them, no, not an inch.\u201d\n\nWe too were willing to make all kinds of concessions to the papists.\nYes, we are willing to offer them more than we should. But we will not\ngive up the liberty of conscience which we have in Christ Jesus. We\nrefuse to have our conscience bound by any work or law, so that by doing\nthis or that we should be righteous, or leaving this or that undone we\nshould be damned.\n\nSince our opponents will not let it stand that only faith in Christ\njustifies, we will not yield to them. On the question of justification\nwe must remain adamant, or else we shall lose the truth of the Gospel.\nIt is a matter of life and death. It involves the death of the Son\nof God, who died for the sins of the world. If we surrender faith\nin Christ, as the only thing that can justify us, the death and\nresurrection of Jesus are without meaning; that Christ is the Savior\nof the world would be a myth. God would be a liar, because He would not\nhave fulfilled His promises. Our stubbornness is right, because we want\nto preserve the liberty which we have in Christ. Only by preserving our\nliberty shall we be able to retain the truth of the Gospel inviolate.\n\nSome will object that the Law is divine and holy. Let it be divine and\nholy. The Law has no right to tell me that I must be justified by it.\nThe Law has the right to tell me that I should love God and my neighbor,\nthat I should live in chastity, temperance, patience, etc. The Law has\nno right to tell me how I may be delivered from sin, death, and hell. It\nis the Gospel\u2019s business to tell me that. I must listen to the Gospel.\nIt tells me, not what I must do, but what Jesus Christ, the Son of God,\nhas done for me.\n\nTo conclude, Paul refused to circumcise Titus for the reason that the\nfalse apostles wanted to compel him to circumcise Titus. Paul refused to\naccede to their demands. If they had asked it on the plea of brotherly\nlove, Paul would not have denied them. But because they demanded it on\nthe ground that it was necessary for salvation, Paul defied them, and\nprevailed. Titus was not circumcised.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. But of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they\n  were, it maketh no matter to me.\n\nThis is a good point in Paul\u2019s refutation. Paul disparages the authority\nand dignity of the true apostles. He says of them, \u201cWhich seemed to be\nsomewhat.\u201d The authority of the apostles was indeed great in all the\nchurches. Paul did not want to detract from their authority, but he had\nto speak disparagingly of their authority in order to conserve the truth\nof the Gospel, and the liberty of conscience.\n\nThe false apostles used this argument against Paul: \u201cThe apostles lived\nwith Christ for three years. They heard His sermons. They witnessed His\nmiracles. They themselves preached and performed miracles while Christ\nwas on earth. Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh. Now, whom ought you to\nbelieve: Paul, who stands alone, a mere disciple of the apostles, one\nof the last and least; or will you believe those grand apostles who were\nsent and confirmed by Christ Himself long before Paul?\u201d\n\nWhat could Paul say to that? He answered: \u201cWhat they say has no bearing\non the argument. If the apostles were angels from heaven, that would not\nimpress me. We are not now discussing the excellency of the apostles. We\nare talking about the Word of God now, and the truth of the Gospel. That\nGospel is more excellent than all apostles.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 6. God accepteth no man\u2019s person.\n\nPaul is quoting Moses: \u201cThou shalt not respect the person of the poor,\nnor honor the person of the mighty.\u201d (Lev. 19:15) This quotation from\nMoses ought to shut the mouths of the false apostles. \u201cDon\u2019t you\nknow that God is no respecter of persons?\u201d cries Paul. The dignity\nor authority of men means nothing to God. The fact is that God often\nrejects just such who stand in the odor of sanctity and in the aura\nof importance. In doing so God seems unjust and harsh. But men need\ndeterring examples. For it is a vice with us to esteem personality more\nhighly than the Word of God. God wants us to exalt His Word and not men.\n\nThere must be people in high office, of course. But we are not to deify\nthem. The governor, the mayor, the preacher, the teacher, the scholar,\nfather, mother, are persons whom we are to love and revere, but not to\nthe extent that we forget God. Least we attach too much importance\nto the person, God leaves with important persons offenses and sins,\nsometimes astounding shortcomings, to show us that there is a lot of\ndifference between any person and God. David was a good king. But when\nthe people began to think too well of him, down he fell into horrible\nsins, adultery and murder. Peter, excellent apostle that he was, denied\nChrist. Such examples of which the Scriptures are full, ought to warn\nus not to repose our trust in men. In the papacy appearance counts for\neverything. Indeed, the whole papacy amounts to nothing more than a mere\nkowtowing of persons and outward mummery. But God alone is to be feared\nand honored.\n\nI would honor the Pope, I would love his person, if he would leave my\nconscience alone, and not compel me to sin against God. But the Pope\nwants to be adored himself, and that cannot be done without offending\nGod. Since we must choose between one or the other, let us choose God.\nThe truth is we are commissioned by God to resist the Pope, for it is\nwritten, \u201cWe ought to obey God rather than men.\u201d (Acts 5:29)\n\nWe have seen how Paul refutes the argument of the false apostles\nconcerning the authority of the apostles. In order that the truth of the\nGospel may continue; in order that the Word of God and the righteousness\nof faith may be kept pure and undefiled, let the apostles, let an angel\nfrom heaven, let Peter, let Paul, let them all perish.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. For they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added\n  nothing to me.\n\nThe Apostle repeats: \u201cI did not so confer with the apostles that they\ntaught me anything. What could they possibly teach me since Christ by\nHis revelation had taught me all things? It was but a conference, and\nno disputation. I learned nothing, neither did I defend my cause. I only\nstated what I had done, that I had preached to the Gentiles faith in\nChrist, without the Law, and that in response to my preaching the Holy\nGhost came down upon the Gentiles. When the apostles heard this, they\nwere glad that I had taught the truth.\u201d\n\nIf Paul would not give in to the false apostles, much less ought we to\ngive in to our opponents. I know that a Christian should be humble, but\nagainst the Pope I am going to be proud and say to him: \u201cYou, Pope,\nI will not have you for my boss, for I am sure that my doctrine is\ndivine.\u201d Such pride against the Pope is imperative, for if we are not\nstout and proud we shall never succeed in defending the article of the\nrighteousness of faith.\n\nIf the Pope would concede that God alone by His grace through Christ\njustifies sinners, we would carry him in our arms, we would kiss his\nfeet. But since we cannot obtain this concession, we will give in to\nnobody, not to all the angels in heaven, not to Peter, not to Paul, not\nto a hundred emperors, not to a thousand popes, not to the whole world.\nIf in this matter we were to humble ourselves, they would take from\nus the God who created us, and Jesus Christ who has redeemed us by His\nblood. Let this be our resolution, that we will suffer the loss of all\nthings, the loss of our good name, of life itself, but the Gospel and\nour faith in Jesus Christ--we will not stand for it that anybody take\nthem from us.\n\n\n  VERSES 7, 8. But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the\n  uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision\n  was unto Peter; [For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the\n  apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the\n  Gentiles.]\n\nHere the Apostle claims for himself the same authority which the false\napostles attributed to the true apostles. Paul simply inverts their\nargument. \u201cTo bolster their evil cause,\u201d says he, \u201cthe false apostles\nquote the authority of the great apostles against me. I can quote the\nsame authority against them, for the apostles are on my side. They\ngave me the right hand of fellowship. They approved my ministry. O my\nGalatians, do not believe the counterfeit apostles!\u201d\n\nWhat does Paul mean by saying that the gospel of the uncircumcision was\ncommitted unto him, and that of the circumcision to Peter? Did not Paul\npreach to the Jews, while Peter preached to the Gentiles also? Peter\nconverted the Centurion. Paul\u2019s custom was to enter into the synagogues\nof the Jews, there to preach the Gospel. Why then should he call himself\nthe apostle of the Gentiles, while he calls Peter the apostle of the\ncircumcision?\n\nPaul refers to the fact that the other apostles remained in Jerusalem\nuntil the destruction of the city became imminent. But Paul was\nespecially called the apostle of the Gentiles. Even before the\ndestruction of Jerusalem Jews dwelt here and there in the cities of the\nGentiles. Coming to a city, Paul customarily entered the synagogues of\nthe Jews and first brought to them as the children of the kingdom, the\nglad tidings that the promises made unto the fathers were fulfilled in\nJesus Christ. When the Jews refused to hear these glad tidings, Paul\nturned to the Gentiles. He was the apostle of the Gentiles in a special\nsense, as Peter was the apostle of the Jews.\n\nPaul reiterates that Peter, James, and John, the accepted pillars of the\nChurch, taught him nothing, nor did they commit unto him the office of\npreaching the Gospel unto the Gentiles. Both the knowledge of the Gospel\nand the commandment to preach it to the Gentiles, Paul received directly\nfrom God. His case was parallel to that of Peter\u2019s, who was particularly\ncommissioned to preach the Gospel to the Jews.\n\nThe apostles had the same charge, the identical Gospel. Peter did not\nproclaim a different Gospel, nor had he appointed his fellow apostles.\nThey were equals. They were all taught of God. None was greater than the\nother, none could point to prerogatives above the other. To justify his\nusurped primacy in the Church the Pope claims that Peter was the chief\nof the apostles. This is an impudent falsehood.\n\n\n  VERSE 8. For he that wrought effectually in Peter.\n\nWith these words Paul refutes another argument of the false apostles.\n\u201cWhat reason have the false apostles to boast that the Gospel of Peter\nwas mighty, that he converted many, that he wrought great miracles, and\nthat his very shadow healed the sick? These reports are true enough. But\nwhere did Peter acquire this power? God gave him the power. I have the\nsame power. I received my power, not from Peter, but from the same God,\nthe same Spirit who was mighty in Peter was mighty in me also.\u201d Luke\ncorroborates Paul\u2019s statement in the words: \u201cAnd God wrought special\nmiracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto\nthe sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them,\nand the evil spirits went out of them.\u201d (Acts 19:11, 12.)\n\nTo conclude, Paul is not going to be inferior to the rest of the\napostles. Some secular writers put Paul\u2019s boasting down as carnal pride.\nBut Paul had no personal interest in his boasting. It was with him a\nmatter of faith and doctrine. The controversy was not about the glory\nof Paul, but the glory of God, the Word of God, the true worship of God,\ntrue religion, and the righteousness of faith.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. And when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars,\n  perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and\n  Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the\n  heathen, and they unto the circumcision.\n\n\u201cThe fact is, when the apostles heard that I had received the charge to\npreach the Gospel to the Gentiles from Christ; when they heard that God\nhad wrought many miracles through me; that great numbers of the Gentiles\nhad come to the knowledge of Christ through my ministry; when they\nheard that the Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost without Law and\ncircumcision, by the simple preaching of faith; when they heard all this\nthey glorified God for His grace in me.\u201d Hence, Paul was justified in\nconcluding that the apostles were for him, and not against him.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. The right hands of fellowship.\n\nAs if the apostles had said to him: \u201cWe, Paul, do agree with you in all\nthings. We are companions in doctrine. We have the same Gospel with this\ndifference, that to you is committed the Gospel for the uncircumcised,\nwhile the Gospel for the circumcision is committed unto us. But this\ndifference ought not to hinder our friendship, since we preach one and\nthe same Gospel.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 10. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same\n  which I also was forward to do.\n\nNext to the preaching of the Gospel, a true and faithful pastor will\ntake care of the poor. Where the Church is, there must be the poor,\nfor the world and the devil persecute the Church and impoverish many\nfaithful Christians.\n\nSpeaking of money, nobody wants to contribute nowadays to the\nmaintenance of the ministry, and the erection of schools. When it comes\nto establishing false worship and idolatry, no cost is spared. True\nreligion is ever in need of money, while false religions are backed by\nwealth.\n\n\n  VERSE 11. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the\n  face, because he was to be blamed.\n\nPaul goes on in his refutation of the false apostles by saying that in\nAntioch he withstood Peter in the presence of the whole congregation.\nAs he stated before, Paul had no small matter in hand, but the chief\narticle of the Christian religion. When this article is endangered, we\nmust not hesitate to resist Peter, or an angel from heaven. Paul paid no\nregard to the dignity and position of Peter, when he saw this article in\ndanger. It is written: \u201cHe that loveth father or mother or his own life,\nmore than me, is not worthy of me.\u201d (Matt. 10:37.)\n\nFor defending the truth in our day, we are called proud and obstinate\nhypocrites. We are not ashamed of these titles. The cause we are called\nto defend, is not Peter\u2019s cause, or the cause of our parents, or that of\nthe government, or that of the world, but the cause of God. In defense\nof that cause we must be firm and unyielding.\n\nWhen he says, \u201cto his face,\u201d Paul accuses the false apostles of\nslandering him behind his back. In his presence they dared not to open\ntheir mouths. He tells them, \u201cI did not speak evil of Peter behind his\nback, but I withstood him frankly and openly.\u201d\n\nOthers may debate here whether an apostle might sin. I claim that we\nought not to make Peter out as faultless. Prophets have erred. Nathan\ntold David that he should go ahead and build the Temple of the Lord. But\nhis prophecy was afterwards corrected by the Lord. The apostles erred\nin thinking of the Kingdom of Christ as a worldly state. Peter had heard\nthe command of Christ, \u201cGo ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel\nto every creature.\u201d But if it had not been for the heavenly vision and\nthe special command of Christ, Peter would never have gone to the home\nof Cornelius. Peter also erred in this matter of circumcision. If Paul\nhad not publicly censured him, all the believing Gentiles would have\nbeen compelled to receive circumcision and accept the Jewish law. We are\nnot to attribute perfection to any man.\n\nLuke reports \u201cthat the contention between Paul and Barnabas was so\nsharp that they departed asunder one from the other.\u201d The cause of their\ndisagreement could hardly have been small since it separated these\ntwo, who had been joined together for years in a holy partnership. Such\nincidents are recorded for our consolation. After all, it is a comfort\nto know that even saints might and do sin.\n\nSamson, David, and many other excellent men, fell into grievous sins.\nJob and Jeremiah cursed the day of their birth. Elijah and Jonah became\nweary of life and prayed for death. Such offenses on the part of the\nsaints, the Scriptures record for the comfort of those who are near\ndespair. No person has ever sunk so low that he cannot rise again. On\nthe other hand, no man\u2019s standing is so secure that he may not fall. If\nPeter fell, I may fall. If he rose again, I may rise again. We have the\nsame gifts that they had, the same Christ, the same baptism and the\nsame Gospel, the same forgiveness of sins. They needed these saving\nordinances just as much as we do.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the\n  Gentiles.\n\nThe Gentiles who had been converted to faith in Christ, ate meats\nforbidden by the Law. Peter, visiting some of these Gentiles, ate\nmeat and drank wine with them, although he knew that these things were\nforbidden in the Law. Paul declared that he did likewise, that he became\nas a Jew to the Jews, and to them that were without law, as without law.\nHe ate and drank with the Gentiles unconcerned about the Jewish Law.\nWhen he was with the Jews, however, he abstained from all things\nforbidden in the Law, for he labored to serve all men, that he \u201cmight by\nall means save some.\u201d Paul does not reprove Peter for transgressing the\nLaw, but for disguising his attitude to the Law.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself,\n  fearing them which were of the circumcision.\n\nPaul does not accuse Peter of malice or ignorance, but of lack of\nprinciple, in that he abstained from meats, because he feared the Jews\nthat came from James. Peter\u2019s weak attitude endangered the principle of\nChristian liberty. It is the deduction rather than the fact which Paul\nreproves. To eat and to drink, or not to eat and drink, is immaterial.\nBut to make the deduction \u201cIf you eat, you sin; if you abstain you are\nrighteous\u201d--this is wrong.\n\nMeats may be refused for two reasons. First, they may be refused for the\nsake of Christian love. There is no danger connected with a refusal of\nmeats for the sake of charity. To bear with the infirmity of a\nbrother is a good thing. Paul himself taught and exemplified such\nthoughtfulness. Secondly, meats may be refused in the mistaken hope of\nthereby obtaining righteousness. When this is the purpose of abstaining\nfrom meats, we say, let charity go. To refrain from meats for this\nlatter reason amounts to a denial of Christ. If we must lose one or the\nother, let us lose a friend and brother, rather than God, our Father.\n\nJerome, who understood not this passage, nor the whole epistle for\nthat matter, excuses Peter\u2019s action on the ground \u201cthat it was done\nin ignorance.\u201d But Peter offended by giving the impression that he was\nindorsing the Law. By his example he encouraged Gentiles and Jews to\nforsake the truth of the Gospel. If Paul had not reproved him, there\nwould have been a sliding back of Christians into the Jewish religion,\nand a return to the burdens of the Law.\n\nIt is surprising that Peter, excellent apostle that he was, should have\nbeen guilty of such vacillation. In a former council at Jerusalem he\npractically stood alone in defense of the truth that salvation is\nby faith, without the Law. Peter at that time valiantly defended the\nliberty of the Gospel. But now by abstaining from meats forbidden in the\nLaw, he went against his better judgment. You have no idea what danger\nthere is in customs and ceremonies. They so easily tend to error in\nworks.\n\n\n  VERSE 13. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch\n  that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.\n\nIt is marvelous how God preserved the Church by one single person. Paul\nalone stood up for the truth, for Barnabas, his companion, was lost to\nhim, and Peter was against him. Sometimes one lone person can do more in\na conference than the whole assembly.\n\nI mention this to urge all to learn how properly to differentiate\nbetween the Law and the Gospel, in order to avoid dissembling. When it\ncome to the article of justification we must not yield, if we want to\nretain the truth of the Gospel.\n\nWhen the conscience is disturbed, do not seek advice from reason or from\nthe Law, but rest your conscience in the grace of God and in His Word,\nand proceed as if you had never heard of the Law. The Law has its place\nand its own good time. While Moses was in the mountain where he talked\nwith God face to face, he had no law, he made no law, he administered\nno law. But when he came down from the mountain, he was a lawgiver. The\nconscience must be kept above the Law, the body under the Law.\n\nPaul reproved Peter for no trifle, but for the chief article of\nChristian doctrine, which Peter\u2019s hypocrisy had endangered. For Barnabas\nand other Jews followed Peter\u2019s example. It is surprising that such good\nmen as Peter, Barnabas, and others should fall into unexpected error,\nespecially in a matter which they knew so well. To trust in our own\nstrength, our own goodness, our own wisdom, is a perilous thing. Let us\nsearch the Scriptures with humility, praying that we may never lose the\nlight of the Gospel. \u201cLord, increase our faith.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 14. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to\n  the truth of the gospel.\n\nNo one except Paul had his eyes open. Consequently it was his duty\nto reprove Peter and his followers for swerving from the truth of the\nGospel. It was no easy task for Paul to reprimand Peter. To the honor of\nPeter it must be said that he took the correction. No doubt, he freely\nacknowledged his fault.\n\nThe person who can rightly divide Law and Gospel has reason to thank\nGod. He is a true theologian. I must confess that in times of temptation\nI do not always know how to do it. To divide Law and Gospel means to\nplace the Gospel in heaven, and to keep the Law on earth; to call the\nrighteousness of the Gospel heavenly, and the righteousness of the Law\nearthly; to put as much difference between the righteousness of the\nGospel and that of the Law, as there is difference between day and\nnight. If it is a question of faith or conscience, ignore the Law\nentirely. If it is a question of works, then lift high the lantern of\nworks and the righteousness of the Law. If your conscience is oppressed\nwith a sense of sin, talk to your conscience. Say: \u201cYou are now\ngroveling in the dirt. You are now a laboring ass. Go ahead, and carry\nyour burden. But why don\u2019t you mount up to heaven? There the Law cannot\nfollow you!\u201d Leave the ass burdened with laws behind in the valley. But\nyour conscience, let it ascend with Isaac into the mountain.\n\nIn civil life obedience to the law is severely required. In civil life\nGospel, conscience, grace, remission of sins, Christ Himself, do\nnot count, but only Moses with the lawbooks. If we bear in mind this\ndistinction, neither Gospel nor Law shall trespass upon each other. The\nmoment Law and sin cross into heaven, i.e., your conscience, kick them\nout. On the other hand, when grace wanders unto the earth, i.e., into\nthe body, tell grace: \u201cYou have no business to be around the dreg and\ndung of this bodily life. You belong in heaven.\u201d\n\nBy his compromising attitude Peter confused the separation of Law and\nGospel. Paul had to do something about it. He reproved Peter, not to\nembarrass him, but to conserve the difference between the Gospel which\njustifies in heaven, and the Law which justifies on earth.\n\nThe right separation between Law and Gospel is very important to know.\nChristian doctrine is impossible without it. Let all who love and fear\nGod, diligently learn the difference, not only in theory but also in\npractice.\n\nWhen your conscience gets into trouble, say to yourself: \u201cThere is a\ntime to die, and a time to live; a time to learn the Law, and a time\nto unlearn the Law; a time to hear the Gospel, and a time to ignore the\nGospel. Let the Law now depart, and let the Gospel enter, for now is\nthe right time to hear the Gospel, and not the Law.\u201d However, when the\nconflict of conscience is over and external duties must be performed,\nclose your ears to the Gospel, and open them wide to the Law.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. I said unto Peter before them all, If thou being a Jew,\n  livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why\n  compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews.\n\nTo live as a Jew is nothing bad. To eat or not to eat pork, what\ndifference does it make? But to play the Jew, and for conscience\u2019 sake\nto abstain from certain meats, is a denial of Christ. When Paul saw that\nPeter\u2019s attitude tended to this, he withstood Peter and said to\nhim: \u201cYou know that the observance of the Law is not needed unto\nrighteousness. You know that we are justified by faith in Christ.\nYou know that we may eat all kinds of meats. Yet by your example you\nobligate the Gentiles to forsake Christ, and to return to the Law. You\ngive them reason to think that faith is not sufficient unto salvation.\u201d\n\nPeter did not say so, but his example said quite plainly that the\nobservance of the Law must be added to faith in Christ, if men are to\nbe saved. From Peter\u2019s example the Gentiles could not help but draw the\nconclusion that the Law was necessary unto salvation. If this error\nhad been permitted to pass unchallenged, Christ would have lost out\naltogether.\n\nThe controversy involved the preservation of pure doctrine. In such a\ncontroversy Paul did not mind if anybody took offense.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles.\n\n\u201cWhen we Jews compare ourselves with the Gentiles, we look pretty good.\nWe have the Law, we have good works. Our rectitude dates from our birth,\nbecause the Jewish religion is natural to us. But all this does not\nmake us righteous before God.\u201d Peter and the others lived up to the\nrequirements of the Law. They had circumcision, the covenant, the\npromises, the apostleship. But because of these advantages they were\nnot to think themselves righteous before God. None of these prerogatives\nspell faith in Christ, which alone can justify a person. We do not mean\nto imply that the Law is bad. We do not condemn the Law, circumcision,\netc., for their failure to justify us. Paul spoke disparagingly of these\nordinances, because the false apostles asserted that mankind is saved by\nthem without faith. Paul could not let this assertion stand, for without\nfaith all things are deadly.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,\n  but by the faith of Jesus Christ.\n\nFor the sake of argument let us suppose that you could fulfill the Law\nin the spirit of the first commandment of God: \u201cThou shalt love the\nLord, thy God, with all thy heart.\u201d It would do you no good. A person\nsimply is not justified by the works of the Law.\n\nThe works of the Law, according to Paul, include the whole Law,\njudicial, ceremonial, moral. Now, if the performance of the moral law\ncannot justify, how can circumcision justify, when circumcision is part\nof the ceremonial law?\n\nThe demands of the Law may be fulfilled before and after justification.\nThere were many excellent men among the pagans of old, men who never\nheard of justification. They lived moral lives. But that fact did not\njustify them. Peter, Paul, all Christians, live up to the Law. But that\nfact does not justify them. \u201cFor I know nothing by myself,\u201d says Paul,\n\u201cyet am I not hereby justified.\u201d (I Cor. 4:4.)\n\nThe nefarious opinion of the papists, which attributes the merit of\ngrace and the remission of sins to works, must here be emphatically\nrejected. The papists say that a good work performed before grace has\nbeen obtained, is able to secure grace for a person, because it is\nno more than right that God should reward a good deed. When grace has\nalready been obtained, any good work deserves everlasting life as a due\npayment and reward for merit. For the first, God is no debtor, they say;\nbut because God is good and just, it is no more than right (they say)\nthat He should reward a good work by granting grace for the service.\nBut when grace has already been obtained, they continue, God is in the\nposition of a debtor, and is in duty bound to reward a good work with\nthe gift of eternal life. This is the wicked teaching of the papacy.\n\nNow, if I could perform any work acceptable to God and deserving of\ngrace, and once having obtained grace my good works would continue to\nearn for me the right and reward of eternal life, why should I stand in\nneed of the grace of God and the suffering and death of Christ? Christ\nwould be of no benefit to me. Christ\u2019s mercy would be of no use to me.\n\nThis shows how little insight the pope and the whole of his religious\ncoterie have into spiritual matters, and how little they concern\nthemselves with the spiritual health of their forlorn flocks. They\ncannot believe that the flesh is unable to think, speak, or do anything\nexcept against God. If they could see evil rooted in the nature of\nman, they would never entertain such silly dreams about man\u2019s merit or\nworthiness.\n\nWith Paul we absolutely deny the possibility of self merit. God never\nyet gave to any person grace and everlasting life as a reward for merit.\nThe opinions of the papists are the intellectual pipe-dreams of idle\npates, that serve no other purpose but to draw men away from the true\nworship of God. The papacy is founded upon hallucinations.\n\nThe true way of salvation is this. First, a person must realize that he\nis a sinner, the kind of a sinner who is congenitally unable to do any\ngood thing. \u201cWhatsoever is not of faith, is sin.\u201d Those who seek to\nearn the grace of God by their own efforts are trying to please God with\nsins. They mock God, and provoke His anger. The first step on the way to\nsalvation is to repent.\n\nThe second part is this. God sent His only-begotten Son into the world\nthat we may live through His merit. He was crucified and killed for us.\nBy sacrificing His Son for us God revealed Himself to us as a\nmerciful Father who donates remission of sins, righteousness, and life\neverlasting for Christ\u2019s sake. God hands out His gifts freely unto all\nmen. That is the praise and glory of His mercy.\n\nThe scholastics explain the way of salvation in this manner. When a\nperson happens to perform a good deed, God accepts it and as a reward\nfor the good deed God pours charity into that person. They call it\n\u201ccharity infused.\u201d This charity is supposed to remain in the heart.\nThey get wild when they are told that this quality of the heart cannot\njustify a person.\n\nThey also claim that we are able to love God by our own natural\nstrength, to love God above all things, at least to the extent that we\ndeserve grace. And, say the scholastics, because God is not satisfied\nwith a literal performance of the Law, but expects us to fulfill the\nLaw according to the mind of the Lawgiver, therefore we must obtain\nfrom above a quality above nature, a quality which they call \u201cformal\nrighteousness.\u201d\n\nWe say, faith apprehends Jesus Christ. Christian faith is not an\ninactive quality in the heart. If it is true faith it will surely take\nChrist for its object. Christ, apprehended by faith and dwelling in the\nheart, constitutes Christian righteousness, for which God gives eternal\nlife.\n\nIn contrast to the doting dreams of the scholastics, we teach this:\nFirst a person must learn to know himself from the Law. With the prophet\nhe will then confess: \u201cAll have sinned, and come short of the glory of\nGod.\u201d And, \u201cthere is none that doeth good, no, not one.\u201d And, \u201cagainst\nthee, thee only, have I sinned.\u201d\n\nHaving been humbled by the Law, and having been brought to a right\nestimate of himself, a man will repent. He finds out that he is so\ndepraved, that no strength, no works, no merits of his own will ever\ndeliver him from his guilt. He will then understand the meaning of\nPaul\u2019s words: \u201cI am sold under sin\u201d; and \u201cthey are all under sin.\u201d\n\nAt this state a person begins to lament: \u201cWho is going to help me?\u201d\nIn due time comes the Word of the Gospel, and says: \u201cSon, thy sins are\nforgiven thee. Believe in Jesus Christ who was crucified for your sins.\nRemember, your sins have been imposed upon Christ.\u201d\n\nIn this way are we delivered from sin. In this way are we justified and\nmade heirs of everlasting life.\n\nIn order to have faith you must paint a true portrait of Christ. The\nscholastics caricature Christ into a judge and tormentor. But Christ is\nno law giver. He is the Lifegiver. He is the Forgiver of sins. You must\nbelieve that Christ might have atoned for the sins of the world with one\nsingle drop of His blood. Instead, He shed His blood abundantly in order\nthat He might give abundant satisfaction for our sins.\n\nHere let me say, that these three things, faith, Christ, and imputation\nof righteousness, are to be joined together. Faith takes hold of Christ.\nGod accounts this faith for righteousness.\n\nThis imputation of righteousness we need very much, because we are far\nfrom perfect. As long as we have this body, sin will dwell in our flesh.\nThen, too, we sometimes drive away the Holy Spirit; we fall into sin,\nlike Peter, David, and other holy men. Nevertheless we may always take\nrecourse to this fact, \u201cthat our sins are covered,\u201d and that \u201cGod will\nnot lay them to our charge.\u201d Sin is not held against us for Christ\u2019s\nsake. Where Christ and faith are lacking, there is no remission or\ncovering of sins, but only condemnation.\n\nAfter we have taught faith in Christ, we teach good works. \u201cSince you\nhave found Christ by faith,\u201d we say, \u201cbegin now to work and do well.\nLove God and your neighbor. Call upon God, give thanks unto Him, praise\nHim, confess Him. These are good works. Let them flow from a cheerful\nheart, because you have remission of sin in Christ.\u201d\n\nWhen crosses and afflictions come our way, we bear them patiently.\n\u201cFor Christ\u2019s yoke is easy, and His burden is light.\u201d When sin has been\npardoned, and the conscience has been eased of its dreadful load, a\nChristian can endure all things in Christ.\n\nTo give a short definition of a Christian: A Christian is not somebody\nwho chalks(sp) sin, because of his faith in Christ. This doctrine brings\ncomfort to consciences in serious trouble. When a person is a Christian\nhe is above law and sin. When the Law accuses him, and sin wants to\ndrive the wits out of him, a Christian looks to Christ. A Christian is\nfree. He has no master except Christ. A Christian is greater than the\nwhole world.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be\n  justified.\n\nThe true way of becoming a Christian is to be justified by faith in\nJesus Christ, and not by the works of the Law.\n\nWe know that we must also teach good works, but they must be taught in\ntheir proper turn, when the discussion is concerning works and not the\narticle of justification.\n\nHere the question arises by what means are we justified? We answer with\nPaul, \u201cBy faith only in Christ are we pronounced righteous, and not\nby works.\u201d Not that we reject good works. Far from it. But we will not\nallow ourselves to be removed from the anchorage of our salvation.\n\nThe Law is a good thing. But when the discussion is about justification,\nthen is no time to drag in the Law. When we discuss justification we\nought to speak of Christ and the benefits He has brought us.\n\nChrist is no sheriff. He is \u201cthe Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin\nof the world.\u201d (John 1:29.)\n\n\n  VERSE 16. That we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by\n  the works of the Law.\n\nWe do not mean to say that the Law is bad. Only it is not able to\njustify us. To be at peace with God, we have need of a far better\nmediator than Moses or the Law. We must know that we are nothing. We\nmust understand that we are merely beneficiaries and recipients of the\ntreasures of Christ.\n\nSo far, the words of Paul were addressed to Peter. Now Paul turns to the\nGalatians and makes this summary statement:\n\n\n  VERSE 16. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.\n\nBy the term \u201cflesh\u201d Paul does not understand manifest vices. Such sins\nhe usually calls by their proper names, as adultery, fornication, etc.\nBy \u201cflesh\u201d Paul understands what Jesus meant in the third chapter of\nJohn, \u201cThat which is born of the flesh is flesh\u201d. (John 3:6.) \u201cFlesh\u201d\nhere means the whole nature of man, inclusive of reason and instincts.\n\u201cThis flesh,\u201d says Paul, \u201cis not justified by the works of the law.\u201d\n\nThe papists do not believe this. They say, \u201cA person who performs this\ngood deed or that, deserves the forgiveness of his sins. A person who\njoins this or that holy order, has the promise of everlasting life.\u201d\n\nTo me it is a miracle that the Church, so long surrounded by vicious\nsects, has been able to survive at all. God must have been able to call\na few who in their failure to discover any good in themselves to cite\nagainst the wrath and judgment of God, simply took to the suffering and\ndeath of Christ, and were saved by this simple faith.\n\nNevertheless God has punished the contempt of the Gospel and of Christ\non the part of the papists, by turning them over to a reprobate state\nof mind in which they reject the Gospel, and receive with gusto the\nabominable rules, ordinances, and traditions of men in preference to the\nWord of God, until they went so far as to forbid marriage. God punished\nthem justly, because they blasphemed the only Son of God.\n\nThis is, then, our general conclusion: \u201cBy the works of the law shall no\nflesh be justified.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 17. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves\n  also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God\n  forbid.\n\nEither we are not justified by Christ, or we are not justified by\nthe Law. The fact is, we are justified by Christ. Hence, we are not\njustified by the Law. If we observe the Law in order to be justified,\nor after having been justified by Christ, we think we must further be\njustified by the Law, we convert Christ into a legislator and a minister\nof sin.\n\n\u201cWhat are these false apostles doing?\u201d Paul cries. \u201cThey are turning Law\ninto grace, and grace into Law. They are changing Moses into Christ, and\nChrist into Moses. By teaching that besides Christ and His righteousness\nthe performance of the Law is necessary unto salvation, they put the Law\nin the place of Christ, they attribute to the Law the power to save, a\npower that belongs to Christ only.\u201d\n\nThe papists quote the words of Christ: \u201cIf thou wilt enter into life,\nkeep the commandments.\u201d (Matt. 19:17.) With His own words they deny\nChrist and abolish faith in Him. Christ is made to lose His good\nname, His office, and His glory, and is demoted to the status of a law\nenforcer, reproving, terrifying, and chasing poor sinners around.\n\nThe proper office of Christ is to raise the sinner, and extricate him\nfrom his sins.\n\nPapists and Anabaptists deride us because we so earnestly require faith.\n\u201cFaith,\u201d they say, \u201cmakes men reckless.\u201d What do these law-workers know\nabout faith, when they are so busy calling people back from baptism,\nfrom faith, from the promises of Christ to the Law?\n\nWith their doctrine these lying sects of perdition deface the benefits\nof Christ to this day. They rob Christ of His glory as the Justifier of\nmankind and cast Him into the role of a minister of sin. They are like\nthe false apostles. There is not a single one among them who knows the\ndifference between law and grace.\n\nWe can tell the difference. We do not here and now argue whether we\nought to do good works, or whether the Law is any good, or whether the\nLaw ought to be kept at all. We will discuss these questions some other\ntime. We are now concerned with justification. Our opponents refuse\nto make this distinction. All they can do is to bellow that good works\nought to be done. We know that. We know that good works ought to be\ndone, but we will talk about that when the proper time comes. Now we are\ndealing with justification, and here good works should not be so much as\nmentioned.\n\nPaul\u2019s argument has often comforted me. He argues: \u201cIf we who have been\njustified by Christ are counted unrighteous, why seek justification in\nChrist at all? If we are justified by the Law, tell me, what has Christ\nachieved by His death, by His preaching, by His victory over sin and\ndeath? Either we are justified by Christ, or we are made worse sinners\nby Him.\u201d\n\nThe Sacred Scriptures, particularly those of the New Testament, make\nfrequent mention of faith in Christ. \u201cWhosoever believeth in him is\nsaved, shall not perish, shall have everlasting life, is not judged,\u201d\netc. In open contradiction to the Scriptures, our opponents misquote,\n\u201cHe that believeth in Christ is condemned, because he has faith without\nworks.\u201d Our opponents turn everything topsy-turvy. They make Christ\nover into a murderer, and Moses into a savior. Is not this horrible\nblasphemy?\n\n\n  VERSE 17. Is therefore Christ the minister of sin?\n\nThis is Hebrew phraseology, also used by Paul in II Corinthians, chapter\n3. There Paul speaks of two ministers: The minister of the letter, and\nthe minister of the spirit; the minister of the Law, and the minister\nof grace; the minister of death, and the minister of life. \u201cMoses,\u201d\nsays Paul, \u201cis the minister of the Law, of sin, wrath, death, and\ncondemnation.\u201d\n\nWhoever teaches that good works are indispensable unto salvation, that\nto gain heaven a person must suffer afflictions and follow the example\nof Christ and of the saints, is a minister of the Law, of sin, wrath,\nand of death, for the conscience knows how impossible it is for a person\nto fulfill the Law. Why, the Law makes trouble even for those who have\nthe Holy Spirit. What will not the Law do in the case of the wicked who\ndo not even have the Holy Spirit?\n\nThe Law requires perfect obedience. It condemns all who do not\naccomplish the will of God. But show me a person who is able to render\nperfect obedience. The Law cannot justify. It can only condemn according\nto the passage: \u201cCursed is every one that continueth not in all things\nwhich are written in the book of the law to do them.\u201d\n\nPaul has good reason for calling the minister of the Law the minister of\nsin, for the Law reveals our sinfulness. The realization of sin in turn\nfrightens the heart and drives it to despair. Therefore all exponents of\nthe Law and of works deserve to be called tyrants and oppressors.\n\nThe purpose of the Law is to reveal sin. That this is the purpose of the\nLaw can be seen from the account of the giving of the Law as reported\nin the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus. Moses brought the\npeople out of their tents to have God speak to them personally from a\ncloud. But the people trembled with fear, fled, and standing aloof they\nbegged Moses: \u201cSpeak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God\nspeak with us, lest we die.\u201d The proper office of the Law is to lead us\nout of our tents, in other words, out of the security of our self-trust,\ninto the presence of God, that we may perceive His anger at our\nsinfulness.\n\nAll who say that faith alone in Christ does not justify a person,\nconvert Christ into a minister of sin, a teacher of the Law, and a cruel\ntyrant who requires the impossible. All merit-seekers take Christ for a\nnew lawgiver.\n\nIn conclusion, if the Law is the minister of sin, it is at the same\ntime the minister of wrath and death. As the Law reveals sin it fills\na person with the fear of death and condemnation. Eventually the\nconscience wakes up to the fact that God is angry. If God is angry\nwith you, He will destroy and condemn you forever. Unable to stand the\nthought of the wrath and judgment of God, many a person commits suicide.\n\n\n  VERSE 17. God forbid.\n\nChrist is not the minister of sin, but the Dispenser of righteousness\nand the Giver of life. Christ is Lord over law, sin and death. All who\nbelieve in Him are delivered from law, sin and death.\n\nThe Law drives us away from God, but Christ reconciles God unto us, for\n\u201cHe is the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.\u201d Now if\nthe sin of the world is taken away, it is taken away from me. If sin is\ntaken away, the wrath of God and His condemnation are also taken away.\nLet us practice this blessed conviction.\n\n\n  VERSE 18. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make\n  myself a transgressor.\n\n\u201cI have not preached to the end that I build again the things which I\ndestroyed. If I should do so, I would not only be laboring in vain,\nbut I would make myself guilty of a great wrong. By the ministry of the\nGospel I have destroyed sin, heaviness of heart, wrath, and death. I\nhave abolished the Law, so that it should not bother your conscience any\nmore. Should I now once again establish the Law, and set up the rule\nof Moses? This is exactly what I should be doing, if I would urge\ncircumcision and the performance of the Law as necessary unto salvation.\nInstead of righteousness and life, I would restore sin and death.\u201d\n\nBy the grace of God we know that we are justified through faith in\nChrist alone. We do not mingle law and grace, faith and works. We keep\nthem far apart. Let every true Christian mark the distinction between\nlaw and grace, and mark it well.\n\nWe must not drag good works into the article of justification as the\nmonks do who maintain that not only good works, but also the punishment\nwhich evildoers suffer for their wicked deeds, deserve everlasting life.\nWhen a criminal is brought to the place of execution, the monks try to\ncomfort him in this manner: \u201cYou want to die willingly and patiently,\nand then you will merit remission of your sins and eternal life.\u201d What\ncruelty is this, that a wretched thief, murderer, robber should be so\nmiserably misguided in his extreme distress, that at the very point of\ndeath he should be denied the sweet promises of Christ, and directed to\nhope for pardon of his sins in the willingness and patience with which\nhe is about to suffer death for his crimes? The monks are showing him\nthe paved way to hell.\n\nThese hypocrites do not know the first thing about grace, the Gospel,\nor Christ. They retain the appearance and the name of the Gospel and\nof Christ for a decoy only. In their confessional writings faith or the\nmerit of Christ are never mentioned. In their writings they play up\nthe merits of man, as can readily be seen from the following form of\nabsolution used among the monks.\n\n  \u201cGod forgive thee, brother. The merit of the passion of our Lord Jesus\n  Christ, and of the blessed Saint Mary, always a virgin, and of all the\n  saints; the merit of thy order, the strictness of thy religion, the\n  humility of thy profession, the contrition of thy heart, the good works\n  thou hast done and shalt do for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, be\n  available unto thee for the remission of thy sins, the increase of thy\n  worth and grace, and the reward of everlasting life. Amen.\u201d\n\nTrue, the merit of Christ is mentioned in this formula of absolution.\nBut if you look closer you will notice that Christ\u2019s merit is belittled,\nwhile monkish merits are aggrandized. They confess Christ with their\nlips, and at the same time deny His power to save. I myself was at one\ntime entangled in this error. I thought Christ was a judge and had to be\npacified by a strict adherence to the rules of my order. But now I give\nthanks unto God, the Father of all mercies, who has called me out of\ndarkness into the light of His glorious Gospel, and has granted unto me\nthe saving knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.\n\nWe conclude with Paul, that we are justified by faith in Christ, without\nthe Law. Once a person has been justified by Christ, he will not be\nunproductive of good, but as a good tree he will bring forth good fruit.\nA believer has the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will not permit a\nperson to remain idle, but will put him to work and stir him up to\nthe love of God, to patient suffering in affliction, to prayer,\nthanksgiving, to the habit of charity towards all men.\n\n\n  VERSE 19. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live\n  unto God.\n\nThis cheering form of speech is frequently met with in the Scriptures,\nparticularly in the writings of St. Paul, when the Law is set against\nthe Law, and sin is made to oppose sin, and death is arrayed against\ndeath, and hell is turned loose against hell, as in the following\nquotations: \u201cThou hast led captivity captive,\u201d Psalm 68:18. \u201cO death, I\nwill be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction,\u201d Hosea 13:14.\n\u201cAnd for sin, condemned sin in the flesh,\u201d Romans 8:3.\n\nHere Paul plays the Law against the Law, as if to say: \u201cThe Law of Moses\ncondemns me; but I have another law, the law of grace and liberty which\ncondemns the accusing Law of Moses.\u201d\n\nOn first sight Paul seems to be advancing a strange and ugly heresy.\nHe says, \u201cI am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.\u201d The false\napostles said the very opposite. They said, \u201cIf you do not live to the\nlaw, you are dead unto God.\u201d\n\nThe doctrine of our opponents is similar to that of the false apostles\nin Paul\u2019s day. Our opponents teach, \u201cIf you want to live unto God,\nyou must live after the Law, for it is written, Do this and thou shalt\nlive.\u201d Paul, on the other hand, teaches, \u201cWe cannot live unto God unless\nwe are dead unto the Law.\u201d If we are dead unto the Law, the Law can have\nno power over us.\n\nPaul does not only refer to the Ceremonial Law, but to the whole Law.\nWe are not to think that the Law is wiped out. It stays. It continues to\noperate in the wicked. But a Christian is dead to the Law. For example,\nChrist by His resurrection became free from the grave, and yet the grave\nremains. Peter was delivered from prison, yet the prison remains. The\nLaw is abolished as far as I am concerned, when it has driven me into\nthe arms of Christ. Yet the Law continues to exist and to function. But\nit no longer exists for me.\n\n\u201cI have nothing to do with the Law,\u201d cries Paul. He could not have\nuttered anything more devastating to the prestige of the Law. He\ndeclares that he does not care for the Law, that he does not intend ever\nto be justified by the Law.\n\nTo be dead to the Law means to be free of the Law. What right, then,\nhas the Law to accuse me, or to hold anything against me? When you see\na person squirming in the clutches of the Law, say to him: \u201cBrother, get\nthings straight. You let the Law talk to your conscience. Make it talk\nto your flesh. Wake up, and believe in Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of\nLaw and sin. Faith in Christ will lift you high above the Law into the\nheaven of grace. Though Law and sin remain, they no longer concern you,\nbecause you are dead to the Law and dead to sin.\u201d\n\nBlessed is the person who knows how to use this truth in times of\ndistress. He can talk. He can say: \u201cMr. Law, go ahead and accuse me as\nmuch as you like. I know I have committed many sins, and I continue to\nsin daily. But that does not bother me. You have got to shout louder,\nMr. Law. I am deaf, you know. Talk as much as you like, I am dead to\nyou. If you want to talk to me about my sins, go and talk to my flesh.\nBelabor that, but don\u2019t talk to my conscience. My conscience is a lady\nand a queen, and has nothing to do with the likes of you, because my\nconscience lives to Christ under another law, a new and better law, the\nlaw of grace.\u201d\n\nWe have two propositions: To live unto the Law, is to die unto God. To\ndie unto the Law, is to live unto God. These two propositions go against\nreason. No law-worker can ever understand them. But see to it that you\nunderstand them. The Law can never justify and save a sinner. The Law\ncan only accuse, terrify, and kill him. Therefore to live unto the Law\nis to die unto God. Vice versa, to die unto the Law is to live unto God.\nIf you want to live unto God, bury the Law, and find life through faith\nin Christ Jesus.\n\nWe have enough arguments right here to conclude that justification is\nby faith alone. How can the Law effect our justification, when Paul so\nplainly states that we must be dead to the Law if we want to live unto\nGod? If we are dead to the Law and the Law is dead to us, how can it\npossibly contribute anything to our justification? There is nothing left\nfor us but to be justified by faith alone.\n\nThis nineteenth verse is loaded with consolation. It fortifies a person\nagainst every danger. It allows you to argue like this:\n\n  \u201cI confess I have sinned.\u201d\n  \u201cThen God will punish you.\u201d\n  \u201cNo, He will not do that.\u201d\n  \u201cWhy not? Does not the Law say so?\u201d\n  \u201cI have nothing to do with the Law.\u201d\n  \u201cHow so?\u201d\n  \u201cI have another law, the law of liberty.\u201d\n  \u201cWhat do you mean--\u2018liberty\u2019?\u201d\n  \u201cThe liberty of Christ, for Christ has made me free from the Law that\n  held me down. That Law is now in prison itself, held captive by grace\n  and liberty.\u201d\n\nBy faith in Christ a person may gain such sure and sound comfort, that\nhe need not fear the devil, sin, death, or any evil. \u201cSir Devil,\u201d he\nmay say, \u201cI am not afraid of you. I have a Friend whose name is Jesus\nChrist, in whom I believe. He has abolished the Law, condemned sin,\nvanquished death, and destroyed hell for me. He is bigger than you,\nSatan. He has licked you, and holds you down. You cannot hurt me.\u201d This\nis the faith that overcomes the devil.\n\nPaul manhandles the Law. He treats the Law as if it were a thief and\na robber He treats the Law as contemptible to the conscience, in order\nthat those who believe in Christ may take courage to defy the Law, and\nsay: \u201cMr. Law, I am a sinner. What are you going to do about it?\u201d\n\nOr take death. Christ is risen from death. Why should we now fear the\ngrave? Against my death I set another death, or rather life, my life in\nChrist.\n\nOh, the sweet names of Jesus! He is called my law against the Law, my\nsin against sin, my death against death. Translated, it means that He is\nmy righteousness, my life, my everlasting salvation. For this reason was\nHe made the law of the Law, the sin of sin, the death of death, that\nHe might redeem me from the curse of the Law. He permitted the Law to\naccuse Him, sin to condemn Him, and death to take Him, to abolish the\nLaw, to condemn sin, and to destroy death for me.\n\nThis peculiar form of speech sounds much sweeter than if Paul had said:\n\u201cI through liberty am dead to the law.\u201d By putting it in this way, \u201cI\nthrough the law am dead to the law,\u201d he opposes one law with another\nlaw, and has them fight it out.\n\nIn this masterly fashion Paul draws our attention away from the Law,\nsin, death, and every evil, and centers it upon Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. I am crucified with Christ.\n\nChrist is Lord over the Law, because He was crucified unto the Law. I\nalso am lord over the Law, because by faith I am crucified with Christ.\n\nPaul does not here speak of crucifying the flesh, but he speaks of that\nhigher crucifying wherein sin, devil, and death are crucified in Christ\nand in me. By my faith in Christ I am crucified with Christ. Hence these\nevils are crucified and dead unto me.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. Nevertheless I live.\n\n\u201cI do not mean to create the impression as though I did not live before\nthis. But in reality I first live now, now that I have been delivered\nfrom the Law, from sin, and death. Being crucified with Christ and dead\nunto the Law, I may now rise unto a new and better life.\u201d\n\nWe must pay close attention to Paul\u2019s way of speaking. He says that we\nare crucified and dead unto the Law. The fact is, the Law is crucified\nand dead unto us. Paul purposely speaks that way in order to increase\nthe portion of our comfort.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. Yet not I.\n\nPaul explains what constitutes true Christian righteousness. True\nChristian righteousness is the righteousness of Christ who lives in us.\nWe must look away from our own person. Christ and my conscience must\nbecome one, so that I can see nothing else but Christ crucified and\nraised from the dead for me. If I keep on looking at myself, I am gone.\n\nIf we lose sight of Christ and begin to consider our past, we simply\ngo to pieces. We must turn our eyes to the brazen serpent, Christ\ncrucified, and believe with all our heart that He is our righteousness\nand our life. For Christ, on whom our eyes are fixed, in whom we live,\nwho lives in us, is Lord over Law, sin, death, and all evil.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. But Christ liveth in me.\n\n\u201cThus I live,\u201d the Apostle starts out. But presently he corrects\nhimself, saying, \u201cYet not I, but Christ liveth in me.\u201d He is the form of\nmy perfection. He embellishes my faith.\n\nSince Christ is now living in me, He abolishes the Law, condemns sin,\nand destroys death in me. These foes vanish in His presence. Christ\nabiding in me drives out every evil. This union with Christ delivers me\nfrom the demands of the Law, and separates me from my sinful self. As\nlong as I abide in Christ, nothing can hurt me.\n\nChrist domiciling in me, the old Adam has to stay outside and remain\nsubject to the Law. Think what grace, righteousness, life, peace, and\nsalvation there is in me, thanks to that inseparable conjunction between\nChrist and me through faith!\n\nPaul has a peculiar style, a celestial way of speaking. \u201cI live,\u201d he\nsays, \u201cI live not; I am dead, I am not dead; I am a sinner, I am not\na sinner; I have the Law, I have no Law.\u201d When we look at ourselves we\nfind plenty of sin. But when we look at Christ, we have no sin. Whenever\nwe separate the person of Christ from our own person, we live under the\nLaw and not in Christ; we are condemned by the Law, dead before God.\n\nFaith connects you so intimately with Christ, that He and you become\nas it were one person. As such you may boldly say: \u201cI am now one with\nChrist. Therefore Christ\u2019s righteousness, victory, and life are mine.\u201d\nOn the other hand, Christ may say: \u201cI am that big sinner. His sins and\nhis death are mine, because he is joined to me, and I to him.\u201d\n\nWhenever remission of sins is freely proclaimed, people misinterpret it\naccording to Romans 3:8, \u201cLet us do evil, that good may come.\u201d As\nsoon as people hear that we are not justified by the Law, they reason\nmaliciously: \u201cWhy, then let us reject the Law. If grace abounds, where\nsin abounds, let us abound in sin, that grace may all the more abound.\u201d\nPeople who reason thus are reckless. They make sport of the Scriptures\nand slander the sayings of the Holy Ghost.\n\nHowever, there are others who are not malicious, only weak, who may take\noffense when told that Law and good works are unnecessary for salvation.\nThese must be instructed as to why good works do not justify, and from\nwhat motives good works must be done. Good works are not the cause, but\nthe fruit of righteousness. When we have become righteous, then first\nare we able and willing to do good. The tree makes the apple; the apple\ndoes not make the tree.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the\n  faith of the Son of God.\n\nPaul does not deny the fact that he is living in the flesh. He performs\nthe natural functions of the flesh. But he says that this is not his\nreal life. His life in the flesh is not a life after the flesh.\n\n\u201cI live by the faith of the Son of God,\u201d he says. \u201cMy speech is no\nlonger directed by the flesh, but by the Holy Ghost. My sight is no\nlonger governed by the flesh, but by the Holy Ghost. My hearing is no\nlonger determined by the flesh, but by the Holy Ghost. I cannot teach,\nwrite, pray, or give thanks without the instrumentality of the flesh;\nyet these activities do not proceed from the flesh, but from God.\u201d\n\nA Christian uses earthly means like any unbeliever. Outwardly they look\nalike. Nevertheless there is a great difference between them. I may live\nin the flesh, but I do not live after the flesh. I do my living now \u201cby\nthe faith of the Son of God.\u201d Paul had the same voice, the same tongue,\nbefore and after his conversion. Before his conversion his tongue\nuttered blasphemies. But after his conversion his tongue spoke a\nspiritual, heavenly language.\n\nWe may now understand how spiritual life originates. It enters the heart\nby faith. Christ reigns in the heart with His Holy Spirit, who sees,\nhears, speaks, works, suffers, and does all things in and through us\nover the protest and the resistance of the flesh.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. Who loved me, and gave himself for me.\n\nThe sophistical papists assert that a person is able by natural strength\nto love God long before grace has entered his heart, and to perform\nworks of real merit. They believe they are able to fulfill the\ncommandments of God. They believe they are able to do more than\nGod expects of them, so that they are in a position to sell their\nsuperfluous merits to laymen, thereby saving themselves and others.\nThey are saving nobody. On the contrary, they abolish the Gospel, they\nderide, deny, and blaspheme Christ, and call upon themselves the wrath\nof God. This is what they get for living in their own righteousness, and\nnot in the faith of the Son of God.\n\nThe papists will tell you to do the best you can, and God will give you\nHis grace. They have a rhyme for it:\n\n  \u201cGod will no more require of man, Than of himself perform he can.\u201d\n\nThis may hold true in ordinary civic life. But the papists apply it to\nthe spiritual realm where a person can perform nothing but sin, because\nhe is sold under sin.\n\nOur opponents go even further than that. They say, nature is depraved,\nbut the qualities of nature are untainted. Again we say: This may hold\ntrue in everyday life, but not in the spiritual life. In spiritual\nmatters a person is by nature full of darkness, error, ignorance,\nmalice, and perverseness in will and in mind. In view of this, Paul\ndeclares that Christ began and not we. \u201cHe loved me, and gave Himself\nfor me. He found in me no right mind and no good will. But the good Lord\nhad mercy upon me. Out of pure kindness He loved me, loved me so that\nHe gave Himself for me, that I should be free from the Law, from sin,\ndevil, and death.\u201d\n\nThe words, \u201cThe Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me,\u201d are\nso many thunderclaps and lightning bolts of protest from heaven against\nthe righteousness of the Law. The wickedness, error, darkness, ignorance\nin my mind and my will were so great, that it was quite impossible\nfor me to be saved by any other means than by the inestimable price of\nChrist\u2019s death.\n\nLet us count the price. When you hear that such an enormous price was\npaid for you, will you still come along with your cowl, your shaven\npate, your chastity, your obedience, your poverty, your works, your\nmerits? What do you want with all these trappings? What good are the\nworks of all men, and all the pains of the martyrs, in comparison with\nthe pains of the Son of God dying on the Cross, so that there was not\na drop of His precious blood, but it was all shed for your sins. If you\ncould properly evaluate this incomparable price, you would throw all\nyour ceremonies, vows, works, and merits into the ash can. What awful\npresumption to imagine that there is any work good enough to pacify God,\nwhen to pacify God required the invaluable price of the death and blood\nof His own and only Son?\n\n\n  VERSE 20. For me.\n\nWho is this \u201cme\u201d? I, wretched and damnable sinner, dearly beloved of the\nSon of God. If I could by work or merit love the Son of God and come to\nHim, why should He have sacrificed Himself for me? This shows how the\npapists ignore the Scriptures, particularly the doctrine of faith.\nIf they had paid any attention at all to these words, that it was\nabsolutely necessary for the Son of God to be given into death for me,\nthey would never have invented so many hideous heresies.\n\nI always say, there is no remedy against the sects, no power to resist\nthem, except this article of Christian righteousness. If we lose this\narticle we shall never be able to combat errors or sects. What business\nhave they to make such a fuss about works or merits? If I, a condemned\nsinner, could have been purchased and redeemed by any other price, why\nshould the Son of God have given Himself for me? Just because there\nwas no other price in heaven and on earth big and good enough, was it\nnecessary for the Son of God to be delivered for me. This He did out of\nHis great love for me, for the Apostle says, \u201cWho loved me.\u201d\n\nDid the Law ever love me? Did the Law ever sacrifice itself for me? Did\nthe Law ever die for me? On the contrary, it accuses me, it frightens\nme, it drives me crazy. Somebody else saved me from the Law, from sin\nand death unto eternal life. That Somebody is the Son of God, to whom be\npraise and glory forever.\n\nHence, Christ is no Moses, no tyrant, no lawgiver, but the Giver of\ngrace, the Savior, full of mercy. In short, He is no less than infinite\nmercy and ineffable goodness, bountifully giving Himself for us.\nVisualize Christ in these His true colors. I do not say that it is easy.\nEven in the present diffusion of the Gospel light, I have much trouble\nto see Christ as Paul portrays Him. So deeply has the diseased opinion\nthat Christ is a lawgiver sunk into my bones. You younger men are a good\ndeal better off than we who are old. You have never become infected\nwith the nefarious errors on which I suckled all my youth, until at the\nmention of the name of Christ I shivered with fear. You, I say, who are\nyoung may learn to know Christ in all His sweetness.\n\nFor Christ is Joy and Sweetness to a broken heart. Christ is a Lover of\npoor sinners, and such a Lover that He gave Himself for us. Now if\nthis is true, and it is true, then are we never justified by our own\nrighteousness.\n\nRead the words \u201cme\u201d and \u201cfor me\u201d with great emphasis. Print this \u201cme\u201d\nwith capital letters in your heart, and do not ever doubt that you\nbelong to the number of those who are meant by this \u201cme.\u201d Christ did not\nonly love Peter and Paul. The same love He felt for them He feels for\nus. If we cannot deny that we are sinners, we cannot deny that Christ\ndied for our sins.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. I do not frustrate the grace of God.\n\nPaul is now getting ready for the second argument of his Epistle, to the\neffect that to seek justification by works of the Law, is to reject the\ngrace of God. I ask you, what sin can be more horrible than to reject\nthe grace of God, and to refuse the righteousness of Christ? It is\nbad enough that we are wicked sinners and transgressors of all the\ncommandments of God; on top of that to refuse the grace of God and the\nremission of sins offered unto us by Christ, is the worst sin of all,\nthe sin of sins. That is the limit. There is no sin which Paul and the\nother apostles detested more than when a person despises the grace of\nGod in Christ Jesus. Still there is no sin more common. That is why Paul\ncan get so angry at the Antichrist, because he snubs Christ, rebuffs the\ngrace of God, and refuses the merit of Christ. What else would you call\nit but spitting in Christ\u2019s face, pushing Christ to the side, usurping\nChrist\u2019s throne, and to say: \u201cI am going to justify you people; I am\ngoing to save you.\u201d By what means? By masses, pilgrimages, pardons,\nmerits, etc. For this is Antichrist\u2019s doctrine: Faith is no good, unless\nit is reinforced by works. By this abominable doctrine Antichrist has\nspoiled, darkened, and buried the benefit of Christ, and in place of\nthe grace of Christ and His Kingdom, he has established the doctrine of\nworks and the kingdom of ceremonies.\n\nWe despise the grace of God when we observe the Law for the purpose of\nbeing justified. The Law is good, holy, and profitable, but it does not\njustify. To keep the Law in order to be justified means to reject grace,\nto deny Christ, to despise His sacrifice, and to be lost.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead\n  in vain.\n\nDid Christ die, or did He not die? Was His death worth while, or was it\nnot? If His death was worth while, it follows that righteousness does\nnot come by the Law. Why was Christ born anyway? Why was He crucified?\nWhy did He suffer? Why did He love me and give Himself for me? It was\nall done to no purpose if righteousness is to be had by the Law.\n\nOr do you think that God spared not His Son, but delivered Him for us\nall, for the fun of it? Before I would admit anything like that, I would\nconsign the holiness of the saints and of the angels to hell.\n\nTo reject the grace of God is a common sin, of which everybody is guilty\nwho sees any righteousness in himself or in his deeds. And the Pope is\nthe sole author of this iniquity. Not content to spoil the Gospel of\nChrist, he has filled the world with his cursed traditions, e.g., his\nbulls and indulgences.\n\nWe will always affirm with Paul that either Christ died in vain, or else\nthe Law cannot justify us. But Christ did not suffer and die in vain.\nHence, the Law does not justify.\n\nIf my salvation was so difficult to accomplish that it necessitated the\ndeath of Christ, then all my works, all the righteousness of the Law,\nare good for nothing. How can I buy for a penny what cost a million\ndollars? The Law is a penny\u2019s worth when you compare it with Christ.\nShould I be so stupid as to reject the righteousness of Christ which\ncost me nothing, and slave like a fool to achieve the righteousness of\nthe Law which God disdains?\n\nMan\u2019s own righteousness is in the last analysis a despising and\nrejecting of the grace of God. No combination of words can do justice to\nsuch an outrage. It is an insult to say that any man died in vain. But\nto say that Christ died in vain is a deadly insult. To say that Christ\ndied in vain is to make His resurrection, His victory, His glory, His\nkingdom, heaven, earth, God Himself, of no purpose and benefit whatever.\n\nThat is enough to set any person against the righteousness of the Law\nand all the trimmings of men\u2019s own righteousness, the orders of monks\nand friars, and their superstitions.\n\nWho would not detest his own vows, his cowls, his shaven crown, his\nbearded traditions, yes, the very Law of Moses, when he hears that for\nsuch things he rejected the grace of God and the death of Christ. It\nseems that such a horrible wickedness could not enter a man\u2019s heart,\nthat he should reject the grace of God, and despise the death of Christ.\nAnd yet this atrocity is all too common. Let us be warned. Everyone\nwho seeks righteousness without Christ, either by works, merits,\nsatisfactions, actions, or by the Law, rejects the grace of God, and\ndespises the death of Christ.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 3\n\n\n  VERSE 1. 0 foolish Galatians.\n\nTHE Apostle Paul manifests his apostolic care for the Galatians.\nSometimes he entreats them, then again he reproaches them, in accordance\nwith his own advice to Timothy: \u201cPreach the word; be instant in season,\nout of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort.\u201d\n\nIn the midst of his discourse on Christian righteousness Paul breaks\noff, and turns to address the Galatians. \u201cO foolish Galatians,\u201d he\ncries. \u201cI have brought you the true Gospel, and you received it with\neagerness and gratitude. Now all of a sudden you drop the Gospel. What\nhas got into you?\u201d\n\nPaul reproves the Galatians rather sharply when he calls them \u201cfools,\nbewitched, and disobedient.\u201d Whether he is indignant or sorry, I cannot\nsay. He may be both. It is the duty of a Christian pastor to reprove the\npeople committed to his charge. Of course, his anger must not flow from\nmalice, but from affection and a real zeal for Christ.\n\nThere is no question that Paul is disappointed. It hurts him to think\nthat his Galatians showed so little stability. We can hear him say:\n\u201cI am sorry to hear of your troubles, and disappointed in you for the\ndisgraceful part you played.\u201d I say rather much on this point to save\nPaul from the charge that he railed upon the churches, contrary to the\nspirit of the Gospel.\n\nA certain distance and coolness can be noted in the title with which\nthe Apostle addresses the Galatians. He does not now address them as his\nbrethren, as he usually does. He addresses them as Galatians in order to\nremind them of their national trait to be foolish.\n\nWe have here an example of bad traits that often cling to individual\nChristians and entire congregations. Grace does not suddenly transform a\nChristian into a new and perfect creature. Dregs of the old and natural\ncorruption remain. The Spirit of God cannot at once overcome human\ndeficiency. Sanctification takes time.\n\nAlthough the Galatians had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit through\nthe preaching of faith, something of their national trait of foolishness\nplus their original depravity clung to them. Let no man think that once\nhe has received faith, he can presently be converted into a faultless\ncreature. The leavings of old vices will stick to him, be he ever so\ngood a Christian.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?\n\nPaul calls the Galatians foolish and bewitched. In the fifth chapter he\nmentions sorcery among the works of the flesh, declaring that witchcraft\nand sorcery are real manifestations and legitimate activities of the\ndevil. We are all exposed to the influence of the devil, because he is\nthe prince and god of the world in which we live.\n\nSatan is clever. He does not only bewitch men in a crude manner, but\nalso in a more artful fashion. He bedevils the minds of men with hideous\nfallacies. Not only is he able to deceive the self-assured, but even\nthose who profess the true Christian faith. There is not one among us\nwho is not at times seduced by Satan into false beliefs.\n\nThis accounts for the many new battles we have to wage nowadays. But\nthe attacks of the old Serpent are not without profit to us, for they\nconfirm our doctrine and strengthen our faith in Christ. Many a time we\nwere wrestled down in these conflicts with Satan, but Christ has always\ntriumphed and always will triumph. Do not think that the Galatians were\nthe only ones to be bewitched by the devil. Let us realize that we too\nmay be seduced by Satan.\n\n  VERSE 1. Who hath bewitched you?\n\nIn this sentence Paul excuses the Galatians, while he blames the false\napostles for the apostasy of the Galatians.\n\nAs if he were saying: \u201cI know your defection was not willful. The devil\nsent the false apostles to you, and they tallied you into believing that\nyou are justified by the Law. With this our epistle we endeavor to undo\nthe damage which the false apostles have inflicted upon you.\u201d\n\nLike Paul, we struggle with the Word of God against the fanatical\nAnabaptists of our day; and our efforts are not entirely in vain. The\ntrouble is there are many who refuse to be instructed. They will not\nlisten to reason; they will not listen to the Scriptures, because they\nare bewitched by the tricky devil who can make a lie look like the\ntruth.\n\nSince the devil has this uncanny ability to make us believe a lie until\nwe would swear a thousand times it were the truth, we must not be proud,\nbut walk in fear and humility, and call upon the Lord Jesus to save us\nfrom temptation.\n\nAlthough I am a doctor of divinity, and have preached Christ and\nfought His battles for a long time, I know from personal experience how\ndifficult it is to hold fast to the truth. I cannot always shake off\nSatan. I cannot always apprehend Christ as the Scriptures portray Him.\nSometimes the devil distorts Christ to my vision. But thanks be to God,\nwho keeps us in His Word, in faith, and in prayer.\n\nThe spiritual witchery of the devil creates in the heart a wrong idea\nof Christ. Those who share the opinion that a person is justified by the\nworks of the Law, are simply bewitched. Their belief goes against faith\nand Christ.\n\n  VERSE 1. That ye should not obey the truth.\n\nPaul incriminates the Galatians in worse failure. \u201cYou are so bewitched\nthat you no longer obey the truth. I fear many of you have strayed so\nfar that you will never return to the truth.\u201d\n\nThe apostasy of the Galatians is a fine indorsement of the Law, all\nright. You may preach the Law ever so fervently; if the preaching of the\nGospel does not accompany it, the Law will never produce true conversion\nand heartfelt repentance. We do not mean to say that the preaching of\nthe Law is without value, but it only serves to bring home to us the\nwrath of God. The Law bows a person down. It takes the Gospel and the\npreaching of faith in Christ to raise and save a person.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth.\n\nPaul\u2019s increasing severity becomes apparent as he reminds the Galatians\nthat they disobeyed the truth in defiance of the vivid description he\nhad given them of Christ. So vividly had he described Christ to them\nthat they could almost see and handle Him. As if Paul were to say: \u201cNo\nartist with all his colors could have pictured Christ to you as vividly\nas I have pictured Him to you by my preaching. Yet you permitted\nyourselves to be seduced to the extent that you disobeyed the truth of\nChrist.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Crucified among you.\n\n\u201cYou have not only rejected the grace of God, you have shamefully\ncrucified Christ among you.\u201d Paul employs the same phraseology in\nHebrews 6:6: \u201cSeeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,\nand put him to an open shame.\u201d\n\nIt should make any person afraid to hear Paul say that those who seek\nto be justified by the Law, not only deny Christ, but also crucify Him\nanew. If those who seek to be justified by the Law and its works are\ncrucifiers of Christ, what are they, I like to know, who seek salvation\nby the filthy rags of their own work-righteousness?\n\nCan there be anything more horrible than the papacy, an alliance of\npeople who crucify Christ in themselves, in the Church, and in the\nhearts of the believers?\n\nOf all the diseased and vicious doctrines of the papacy the worst is\nthis: \u201cIf you want to serve God you must earn your own remission of sins\nand everlasting life, and in addition help others to obtain salvation by\ngiving them the benefit of your extra work-holiness.\u201d Monks, friars, and\nall the rest of them brag that besides the ordinary requirements common\nto all Christians, they do the works of supererogation, i.e., the\nperformance of more than is required. This is certainly a fiendish\nillusion.\n\nNo wonder Paul employs such sharp language in his effort to recall the\nGalatians from the doctrine of the false apostles. He says to them:\n\u201cDon\u2019t you realize what you have done? You have crucified Christ anew\nbecause you seek salvation by the Law.\u201d\n\nTrue, Christ can no longer be crucified in person, but He is crucified\nin us when we reject grace, faith, free remission of sins and endeavor\nto be justified by our own works, or by the works of the Law.\n\nThe Apostle is incensed at the presumptuousness of any person who thinks\nhe can perform the Law of God to his own salvation. He charges that\nperson with the atrocity of crucifying anew the Son of God.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the\n  works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?\n\nThere is a touch of irony in these words of the Apostle. \u201cCome on now,\nmy smart Galatians, you who all of a sudden have become doctors, while\nI seem to be your pupil: Received ye the Holy Ghost by the works of\nthe Law, or by the preaching of the Gospel?\u201d This question gave them\nsomething to think about, because their own experience contradicted\nthem.\n\n\u201cYou cannot say that you received the Holy Spirit by the Law. As long as\nyou were servants of the Law, you never received the Holy Ghost. Nobody\never heard of the Holy Ghost being given to anybody, be he doctor or\ndunce, as a result of the preaching of the Law. In your own case, you\nhave not only learned the Law by heart, you have labored with all your\nmight to perform it. You most of all should have received the Holy Ghost\nby the Law, if that were possible. You cannot show me that this ever\nhappened. But as soon as the Gospel came your way, you received the Holy\nGhost by the simple hearing of faith, before you ever had a chance to do\na single good deed.\u201d Luke verifies this statement of Paul in the Book\nof Acts: \u201cWhile Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all\nthem which heard the word.\u201d (Acts 10:44.) \u201cAnd as I began to speak, the\nHoly Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.\u201d (Acts 11:15.)\n\nTry to appreciate the force of Paul\u2019s argument which is so often\nrepeated in the Book of Acts. That Book was written for the express\npurpose of verifying Paul\u2019s assertion, that the Holy Ghost comes upon\nmen, not in response to the preaching of the Law, but in response to\nthe preaching of the Gospel. When Peter preached Christ at the first\nPentecost, the Holy Ghost fell upon the hearers, \u201cand the same day there\nwere added unto them about three thousand souls.\u201d Cornelius received the\nHoly Ghost while Peter was speaking of Christ. \u201cThe Holy Ghost fell on\nall of them which heard the word.\u201d These are actual experiences that\ncannot very well be denied. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem\nand reported what they had been able to accomplish among the Gentiles,\nthe whole Church was astonished, particularly when it heard that the\nuncircumcised Gentiles had received the Holy Ghost by the preaching of\nfaith in Christ.\n\nNow as God gave the Holy Ghost to the Gentiles without the Law by the\nsimple preaching of the Gospel, so He gave the Holy Ghost also to the\nJews, without the Law, through faith alone. If the righteousness of the\nLaw were necessary unto salvation, the Holy Ghost would never have come\nto the Gentiles, because they did not bother about the Law. Hence the\nLaw does not justify, but faith in Christ justifies.\n\nHow was it with Cornelius? Cornelius and his friends whom he had invited\nover to his house, do nothing but sit and listen. Peter is doing the\ntalking. They just sit and do nothing. The Law is far removed from their\nthoughts. They burn no sacrifices. They are not at all interested in\ncircumcision. All they do is to sit and listen to Peter. Suddenly the\nHoly Ghost enters their hearts. His presence is unmistakable, \u201cfor they\nspoke with tongues and magnified God.\u201d\n\nRight here we have one more difference between the Law and the Gospel.\nThe Law does not bring on the Holy Ghost. The Gospel, however, brings\non the gift of the Holy Ghost, because it is the nature of the Gospel to\nconvey good gifts. The Law and the Gospel are contrary ideas. They have\ncontrary functions and purposes. To endow the Law with any capacity to\nproduce righteousness is to plagiarize the Gospel. The Gospel brings\ndonations. It pleads for open hands to take what is being offered. The\nLaw has nothing to give. It demands, and its demands are impossible.\n\nOur opponents come back at us with Cornelius. Cornelius, they point out,\nwas \u201ca devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which\ngave much alms to the people and prayed God always.\u201d Because of these\nqualifications, he merited the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the\nHoly Ghost. So reason our opponents.\n\n  I answer: Cornelius was a Gentile. You cannot deny it. As a Gentile he\n  was uncircumcised. As a Gentile he did not observe the Law. He never\n  gave the Law any thought. For all that, he was justified and received\n  the Holy Ghost. How can the Law avail anything unto righteousness?\nOur opponents are not satisfied. They reply: \u201cGranted that Cornelius was\na Gentile and did not receive the Holy Ghost by the Law, yet the text\nplainly states that he was a devout man who feared God, gave alms, and\nprayed. Don\u2019t you think he deserved the gift of the Holy Ghost?\u201d\n\n  I answer: Cornelius had the faith of the fathers who were saved by\n  faith in the Christ to come. If Cornelius had died before Christ, he\n  would have been saved because he believed in the Christ to come. But\n  because the Messiah had already come, Cornelius had to be apprized of\n  the fact. Since Christ has come we cannot be saved by faith in the\n  Christ to come, but we must believe that he has come. The object of\n  Peter\u2019s visit was to acquaint Cornelius with the fact that Christ was\n  no longer to be looked for, because He is here.\n\nAs to the contention of our opponents that Cornelius deserved grace and\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost, because he was devout and just, we say\nthat these attributes are the characteristics of a spiritual person who\nalready has faith in Christ, and not the characteristics of a Gentile\nor of natural man. Luke first praises Cornelius for being a devout and\nGod-fearing man, and then Luke mentions the good works, the alms and\nprayers of Cornelius. Our opponents ignore the sequence of Luke\u2019s words.\nThey pounce on this one sentence, \u201cwhich gave much alms to the people,\u201d\nbecause it serves their assertion that merit precedes grace. The fact\nis that Cornelius gave alms and prayed to God because he had faith.\nAnd because of his faith in the Christ to come, Peter was delegated to\npreach unto Cornelius faith in the Christ who had already come. This\nargument is convincing enough. Cornelius was justified without the Law,\ntherefore the Law cannot justify.\n\nTake the case of Naaman, the Syrian, who was a Gentile and did not\nbelong to the race of Moses. Yet his flesh was cleansed, the God of\nIsrael was revealed unto him, and he received the Holy Ghost. Naaman\nconfessed his faith: \u201cBehold, now I know that there is no God in all the\nearth, but in Israel.\u201d (II Kings 5:15.) Naaman does not do a thing. He\ndoes not busy himself with the Law. He was never circumcised. That does\nnot mean that his faith was inactive. He said to the Prophet Elisha:\n\u201cThy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice\nunto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon thy\nservant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship\nthere, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of\nRimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon\nthy servant in this thing.\u201d What did the Prophet tell him? \u201cGo in\npeace.\u201d The Jews do not like to hear the prophet say this. \u201cWhat,\u201d they\nexclaim, \u201cshould this heathen be justified without the Law? Should he be\nmade equal to us who are circumcised?\u201d\n\nLong before the time of Moses, God justified men without the Law. He\njustified many kings of Egypt and Babylonia. He justified Job. Nineveh,\nthat great city, was justified and received the promise of God that\nHe would not destroy the city. Why was Nineveh spared? Not because it\nfulfilled the Law, but because Nineveh believed the word of God. The\nProphet Jonah writes: \u201cSo the people of Nineveh believed God, and\nproclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth.\u201d They repented. Nowhere in the\nBook of Jonah do you read that the Ninevites received the Law of Moses,\nor that they were circumcised, or that they offered sacrifices.\n\nAll this happened long before Christ was born. If the Gentiles were\njustified without the Law and quietly received the Holy Spirit at a\ntime when the Law was in full force, why should the Law count unto\nrighteousness now, now that Christ has fulfilled the Law?\n\nAnd yet many devote much time and labor to the Law, to the decrees\nof the fathers, and to the traditions of the Pope. Many of these\nspecialists have incapacitated themselves for any kind of work, good or\nbad, by their rigorous attention to rules and laws. All the same, they\ncould not obtain a quiet conscience and peace in Christ. But the moment\nthe Gospel of Christ touches them, certainty comes to them, and joy, and\na right judgment.\n\nI have good reason for enlarging upon this point. The heart of man finds\nit difficult to believe that so great a treasure as the Holy Ghost is\ngotten by the mere hearing of faith. The hearer likes to reason like\nthis: Forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death, the gift of the Holy\nGhost, everlasting life are grand things. If you want to obtain these\npriceless benefits, you must engage in correspondingly great efforts.\nAnd the devil says, \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nWe must learn that forgiveness of sins, Christ, and the Holy Ghost,\nare freely granted unto us at the preaching of faith, in spite of our\nsinfulness. We are not to waste time thinking how unworthy we are of the\nblessings of God. We are to know that it pleased God freely to give us\nHis unspeakable gifts. If He offers His gifts free of charge, why not\ntake them? Why worry about our lack of worthiness? Why not accept gifts\nwith joy and thanksgiving?\n\nRight away foolish reason is once more offended. It scolds us. \u201cWhen you\nsay that a person can do nothing to obtain the grace of God, you foster\ncarnal security. People become shiftless and will do no good at all.\nBetter not preach this doctrine of faith. Rather urge the people to\nexert and to exercise themselves in good works, so that the Holy Ghost\nwill feel like coming to them.\u201d\n\nWhat did Jesus say to Martha when she was very \u201ccareful and troubled\nabout many things\u201d and could hardly stand to see her sister Mary sitting\nat the feet of Jesus, just listening? \u201cMartha, Martha,\u201d Jesus said,\n\u201cthou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is\nneedful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken\naway from her.\u201d A person becomes a Christian not by working, but by\nhearing. The first step to being a Christian is to hear the Gospel. When\na person has accepted the Gospel, let him first give thanks unto God\nwith a glad heart, and then let him get busy on the good works to strive\nfor, works that really please God, and not man-made and self-chosen\nworks.\n\nOur opponents regard faith as an easy thing, but I know from personal\nexperience how hard it is to believe. That the Holy Ghost is received by\nfaith, is quickly said, but not so quickly done.\n\nAll believers experience this difficulty. They would gladly embrace the\nWord with a full faith, but the flesh deters them. You see, our reason\nalways thinks it is too easy and cheap to have righteousness, the Holy\nSpirit, and life everlasting by the mere hearing of the Gospel.\n\n\n  VERSE 3. Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made\n  perfect by the flesh?\n\nPaul now begins to warn the Galatians against a twofold danger. The\nfirst danger is: \u201cAre ye so foolish, that after ye have begun in the\nSpirit, ye would now end in the flesh?\u201d\n\n\u201cFlesh\u201d stands for the righteousness of reason which seeks justification\nby the accomplishment of the Law. I am told that I began in the spirit\nunder the papacy, but am ending up in the flesh because I got married.\nAs though single life were a spiritual life, and married life a carnal\nlife. They are silly. All the duties of a Christian husband, e.g., to\nlove his wife, to bring up his children, to govern his family, etc., are\nthe very fruits of the Spirit.\n\nThe righteousness of the Law which Paul also terms the righteousness of\nthe flesh is so far from justifying a person that those who once had\nthe Holy Spirit and lost Him, end up in the Law to their complete\ndestruction.\n\n\n  VERSE 4. Have ye suffered so many things in vain?\n\nThe other danger against which the Apostle warns the Galatians is this:\n\u201cHave ye suffered so many things in vain?\u201d Paul wants to say: \u201cConsider\nnot only the good start you had and lost, but consider also the many\nthings you have suffered for the sake of the Gospel and for the name of\nChrist. You have suffered the loss of your possessions, you have borne\nreproaches, you have passed through many dangers of body and life. You\nendured much for the name of Christ and you endured it faithfully.\nBut now you have lost everything, the Gospel, faith, and the spiritual\nbenefit of your sufferings for Christ\u2019s sake. What a miserable thing to\nendure so many afflictions for nothing.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 4. If it be yet in vain.\n\nThe Apostle adds the afterthought: \u201cIf it be yet in vain. I do not\ndespair of all hope for you. But if you continue to look to the Law\nfor righteousness, I think you should be told that all your past\ntrue worship of God and all the afflictions that you have endured\nfor Christ\u2019s sake are going to help you not at all. I do not mean to\ndiscourage you altogether. I do hope you will repent and amend.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 5. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh\n  miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the\n  hearing of faith?\n\nThis argument based on the experience of the Galatians, pleased the\nApostle so well that he returns to it after he had warned them against\ntheir twofold danger. \u201cYou have not only received the Spirit by the\npreaching of the Gospel, but by the same Gospel you were enabled to do\nthings.\u201d \u201cWhat things?\u201d we ask. Miracles. At least the Galatians had\nmanifested the striking fruits of faith which true disciples of the\nGospel manifested in those days. On one occasion the Apostle wrote:\n\u201cThe kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.\u201d This \u201cpower\u201d revealed\nitself not only in readiness of speech, but in demonstrations of the\nsupernatural ability of the Holy Spirit.\n\nWhen the Gospel is preached unto faith, hope, love, and patience, God\ngives His wonder-working Spirit. Paul reminds the Galatians of this.\n\u201cGod had not only brought you to faith by my preaching. He had also\nsanctified you to bring forth the fruits of faith. And one of the fruits\nof your faith was that you loved me so devotedly that you were willing\nto pluck out your eyes for me.\u201d To love a fellow-man so devotedly as to\nbe ready to bestow upon him money, goods, eyes in order to secure his\nsalvation, such love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.\n\n\u201cThese products of the Spirit you enjoyed before the false apostles\nmisled you,\u201d the Apostle reminds the Galatians. \u201cBut you haven\u2019t\nmanifested any of these fruits under the regime of the Law. How does\nit come that you do not grow the same fruits now? You no longer teach\ntruly; you do not believe boldly; you do not live well; you do not work\nhard; you do not bear things patiently. Who has spoiled you that you no\nlonger love me; that you are not now ready to pluck out your eyes for\nme? What has happened to cool your personal interest in me?\u201d\n\nThe same thing happened to me. When I began to proclaim the Gospel,\nthere were many, very many who were delighted with our doctrine and had\na good opinion of us. And now? Now they have succeeded in making us so\nodious to those who formerly loved us that they now hate us like poison.\n\nPaul argues: \u201cYour experience ought to teach you that the fruits of love\ndo not grow on the stump of the Law. You had not virtue prior to the\npreaching of the Gospel and you have no virtues now under the regime of\nthe false apostles.\u201d\n\nWe, too, may say to those who misname themselves \u201cevangelical\u201d and flout\ntheir new-found liberty: Have you put down the tyranny of the Pope and\nobtained liberty in Christ through the Anabaptists and other fanatics?\nOr have you obtained your freedom from us who preach faith in Christ\nJesus? If there is any honesty left in them they will have to confess\nthat their freedom dates from the preaching of the Gospel.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him\n  for righteousness.\n\nThe Apostle next adduces the example of Abraham and reviews the\ntestimony of the Scriptures concerning faith. The first passage is taken\nfrom Genesis 16:6: \u201cAnd he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to\nhim for righteousness.\u201d The Apostle makes the most of this passage.\nAbraham may have enjoyed a good standing with men for his upright life,\nbut not with God. In the sight of God, Abraham was a condemned sinner.\nThat he was justified before God was not due to his own exertions, but\ndue to his faith. The Scriptures expressly state: \u201cAbraham believed in\nthe Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.\u201d\n\nPaul places the emphasis upon the two words: Abraham believed. Faith\nin God constitutes the highest worship, the prime duty, the first\nobedience, and the foremost sacrifice. Without faith God forfeits His\nglory, wisdom, truth, and mercy in us. The first duty of man is to\nbelieve in God and to honor Him with his faith. Faith is truly the\nheight of wisdom, the right kind of righteousness, the only real\nreligion. This will give us an idea of the excellence of faith.\n\nTo believe in God as Abraham did is to be right with God because faith\nhonors God. Faith says to God: \u201cI believe what you say.\u201d When we pay\nattention to reason, God seems to propose impossible matters in the\nChristian Creed. To reason it seems absurd that Christ should offer His\nbody and blood in the Lord\u2019s Supper; that Baptism should be the washing\nof regeneration; that the dead shall rise; that Christ the Son of God\nwas conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, etc. Reason shouts that\nall this is preposterous. Are you surprised that reason thinks little\nof faith? Reason thinks it ludicrous that faith should be the foremost\nservice any person can render unto God.\n\nLet your faith supplant reason. Abraham mastered reason by faith in the\nWord of God. Not as though reason ever yields meekly. It put up a fight\nagainst the faith of Abraham. Reason protested that it was absurd to\nthink that Sarah who was ninety years old and barren by nature, should\ngive birth to a son. But faith won the victory and routed reason, that\nugly beast and enemy of God. Everyone who by faith slays reason, the\nworld\u2019s biggest monster, renders God a real service, a better service\nthan the religions of all races and all the drudgery of meritorious\nmonks can render.\n\nMen fast, pray, watch, suffer. They intend to appease the wrath of God\nand to deserve God\u2019s grace by their exertions. But there is no glory in\nit for God, because by their exertions these workers pronounce God an\nunmerciful slave driver, an unfaithful and angry Judge. They despise\nGod, make a liar out of Him, snub Christ and all His benefits; in short\nthey pull God from His throne and perch themselves on it.\n\nFaith truly honors God. And because faith honors God, God counts faith\nfor righteousness.\n\nChristian righteousness is the confidence of the heart in God through\nChrist Jesus. Such confidence is accounted righteousness for Christ\u2019s\nsake. Two things make for Christian righteousness: Faith in Christ,\nwhich is a gift of God; and God\u2019s acceptance of this imperfect faith\nof ours for perfect righteousness. Because of my faith in Christ, God\noverlooks my distrust, the unwillingness of my spirit, my many other\nsins. Because the shadow of Christ\u2019s wing covers me I have no fear\nthat God will cover all my sins and take my imperfections for perfect\nrighteousness.\n\nGod \u201cwinks\u201d at my sins and covers them up. God says: \u201cBecause you\nbelieve in My Son I will forgive your sins until death shall deliver you\nfrom the body of sin.\u201d\n\nLearn to understand the constitution of your Christian righteousness.\nFaith is weak, but it means enough to God that He will not lay sin to\nour charge. He will not punish nor condemn us for it. He will forgive\nour sins as though they amount to nothing at all. He will do it not\nbecause we are worthy of such mercy. He will do it for Jesus\u2019 sake in\nwhom we believe.\n\nParadoxically, a Christian is both right and wrong, holy and profane,\nan enemy of God and a child of God. These contradictions no person can\nharmonize who does not understand the true way of salvation. Under the\npapacy we were told to toil until the feeling of guilt had left us. But\nthe authors of this deranged idea were frequently driven to despair\nin the hour of death. It would have happened to me, if Christ had not\nmercifully delivered me from this error.\n\nWe comfort the afflicted sinner in this manner: Brother, you can never\nbe perfect in this life, but you can be holy. He will say: \u201cHow can I be\nholy when I feel my sins?\u201d I answer: You feel sin? That is a good sign.\nTo realize that one is ill is a step, and a very necessary step, toward\nrecovery. \u201cBut how will I get rid of my sin?\u201d he will ask. I answer:\nSee the heavenly Physician, Christ, who heals the broken-hearted. Do not\nconsult that Quackdoctor, Reason. Believe in Christ and your sins will\nbe pardoned. His righteousness will become your righteousness, and your\nsins will become His sins.\n\nOn one occasion Jesus said to His disciples: \u201cThe Father loveth you.\u201d\nWhy? Not because the disciples were Pharisees, or circumcised, or\nparticularly attentive to the Law. Jesus said: \u201cThe Father loveth you,\nbecause ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. It\npleased you to know that the Father sent me into the world. And because\nyou believed it the Father loves you.\u201d On another occasion Jesus called\nHis disciples evil and commanded them to ask for forgiveness.\n\nA Christian is beloved of God and a sinner. How can these two\ncontradictions be harmonized: I am a sinner and deserve God\u2019s wrath\nand punishment, and yet the Father loves me? Christ alone can harmonize\nthese contradictions. He is the Mediator.\n\nDo you now see how faith justifies without works? Sin lingers in us, and\nGod hates sin. A transfusion of righteousness therefore becomes vitally\nnecessary. This transfusion of righteousness we obtain from Christ\nbecause we believe in Him.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are\n  the children of Abraham.\n\nThis is the main point of Paul\u2019s argument against the Jews: The children\nof Abraham are those who believe and not those who are born of Abraham\u2019s\nflesh and blood. This point Paul drives home with all his might because\nthe Jews attached saving value to the genealogical fact: \u201cWe are the\nseed and children of Abraham.\u201d\n\nLet us begin with Abraham and learn how this friend of God was justified\nand saved. Not because he left his country, his relatives, his father\u2019s\nhouse; not because he was circumcised; not because he stood ready to\nsacrifice his own son Isaac in whom he had the promise of posterity.\nAbraham was justified because he believed. Paul\u2019s argumentation runs\nlike this: \u201cSince this is the unmistakable testimony of Holy Writ, why\ndo you take your stand upon circumcision and the Law? Was not Abraham,\nyour father, of whom you make so much, justified and saved without\ncircumcision and the Law by faith alone?\u201d Paul therefore concludes:\n\u201cThey which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.\u201d\n\nAbraham was the father of the faithful. In order to be a child of the\nbelieving Abraham you must believe as he did. Otherwise you are merely\nthe physical offspring of the procreating Abraham, i.e., you were\nconceived and born in sin unto wrath and condemnation.\n\nIshmael and Isaac were both the natural children of Abraham. By rights\nIshmael should have enjoyed the prerogatives of the firstborn, if\nphysical generation had any special value. Nevertheless he was left out\nin the cold while Isaac was called. This goes to prove that the children\nof faith are the real children of Abraham.\n\nSome find fault with Paul for applying the term \u201cfaith\u201d in Genesis 15:6\nto Christ. They think Paul\u2019s use of the term too wide and general.\nThey think its meaning should be restricted to the context. They claim\nAbraham\u2019s faith had no more in it than a belief in the promise of God\nthat he should have seed.\n\nWe reply: Faith presupposes the assurance of God\u2019s mercy. This assurance\ntakes in the confidence that our sins are forgiven for Christ\u2019s sake.\nNever will the conscience trust in God unless it can be sure of God\u2019s\nmercy and promises in Christ. Now all the promises of God lead back to\nthe first promise concerning Christ: \u201cAnd I will put enmity between thee\nand the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy\nhead, and thou shalt bruise his heel.\u201d The faith of the fathers in the\nOld Testament era, and our faith in the New Testament are one and the\nsame faith in Christ Jesus, although times and conditions may differ.\nPeter acknowledged this in the words: \u201cWhich neither our fathers nor\nwe were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord\nJesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.\u201d (Acts l5: 10, 11.) And\nPaul writes: \u201cAnd did all drink the spiritual drink; for they drank of\nthat spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.\u201d (I\nCor. 10:4.) And Christ Himself declared: \u201cYour father Abraham rejoiced\nto see my day: and he saw it and was glad.\u201d (John 8:56.) The faith of\nthe fathers was directed at the Christ who was to come, while ours rests\nin the Christ who has come. Time does not change the object of true\nfaith, or the Holy Spirit. There has always been and always will be one\nmind, one impression, one faith concerning Christ among true believers\nwhether they live in times past, now, or in times to come. We too\nbelieve in the Christ to come as the fathers did in the Old Testament,\nfor we look for Christ to come again on the last day to judge the quick\nand the dead.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are\n  the children of Abraham.\n\nPaul is saying: \u201cYou know from the example of Abraham and from the plain\ntestimony of the Scriptures that they are the children of Abraham, who\nhave faith in Christ, regardless of their nationality, regardless of the\nLaw, regardless of works, regardless of their parentage. The promise was\nmade unto Abraham, \u2018Thou shalt be a father of many nations\u2019; again, \u2018And\nin thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.\u2019\u201d To prevent the\nJews from misinterpreting the word \u201cnations,\u201d the Scriptures are careful\nto say \u201cmany nations.\u201d The true children of Abraham are the believers in\nChrist from all nations.\n\n\n  VERSE 8. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the\n  heathen through faith.\n\n\u201cYour boasting does not get you anywhere,\u201d says Paul to the Galatians,\n\u201cbecause the Sacred Scriptures foresaw and foretold long before the\nLaw was ever given, that the heathen should be justified by the blessed\n\u2018seed\u2019 of Abraham and not by the Law. This promise was made four hundred\nand thirty years before the Law was given. Because the Law was given so\nmany years after Abraham, it could not abolish the promised blessing.\u201d\nThis argument is strong because it is based on the exact factor of time.\n\u201cWhy should you boast of the Law, my Galatians, when the Law came four\nhundred and thirty years after the promise?\u201d\n\nThe false apostles glorified the Law and despised the promise made\nunto Abraham, although it antedated the Law by many years. It was after\nAbraham was accounted righteous because of his faith that the Scriptures\nfirst make mention of circumcision. \u201cThe Scriptures,\u201d says Paul, \u201cmeant\nto forestall your infatuation for the righteousness of the Law by\ninstalling the righteousness of faith before circumcision and the Law\never were ordained.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 8. Preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall\n  all nations be blessed.\n\nThe Jews misconstrue this passage. They want the term \u201cto bless\u201d to\nmean \u201cto praise.\u201d They want the passage to read: In thee shall all the\nnations of the earth be praised. But this is a perversion of the\nwords of Holy Writ. With the words \u201cAbraham believed\u201d Paul describes a\nspiritual Abraham, renewed by faith and regenerated by the Holy Ghost,\nthat he should be the spiritual father of many nations. In that way all\nthe Gentiles could be given to him for an inheritance.\n\nThe Scriptures ascribe no righteousness to Abraham except through faith.\nThe Scriptures speak of Abraham as he stands before God, a man justified\nby faith. Because of his faith God extends to him the promise: \u201cIn thee\nshall all nations be blessed.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 9. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful\n  Abraham.\n\nThe emphasis lies on the words \u201cwith faithful Abraham.\u201d Paul\ndistinguishes between Abraham and Abraham. There is a working and there\nis a believing Abraham. With the working Abraham we have nothing to do.\nLet the Jews glory in the generating Abraham; we glory in the believing\nAbraham of whom the Scriptures say that he received the blessing of\nrighteousness by faith, not only for himself but for all who believe as\nhe did. The world was promised to Abraham because he believed. The whole\nworld is blessed if it believes as Abraham believed.\n\nThe blessing is the promise of the Gospel. That all nations are to be\nblessed means that all nations are to hear the Gospel. All nations are\nto be declared righteous before God through faith in Christ Jesus. To\nbless simply means to spread abroad the knowledge of Christ\u2019s salvation.\nThis is the office of the New Testament Church which distributes\nthe promised blessing by preaching the Gospel, by administering the\nsacraments, by comforting the broken-hearted, in short, by dispensing\nthe benefits of Christ.\n\nThe Jews exhibited a working Abraham. The Pope exhibits a working\nChrist, or an exemplary Christ. The Pope quotes Christ\u2019s saying recorded\nin John 13:15, \u201cI have given you an example, that ye should do as I\nhave done to you.\u201d We do not deny that Christians ought to imitate the\nexample of Christ; but mere imitation will not satisfy God. And bear\nin mind that Paul is not now discussing the example of Christ, but\nthe salvation of Christ. That Abraham submitted to circumcision at the\ncommand of God, that he was endowed with excellent virtues, that he\nobeyed God in all things, was certainly admirable of him. To follow\nthe example of Christ, to love one\u2019s neighbor, to do good to them\nthat persecute you, to pray for one\u2019s enemies, patiently to bear\nthe ingratitude of those who return evil for good, is certainly\npraiseworthy. But praiseworthy or not, such virtues do not acquit us\nbefore God. It takes more than that to make us righteous before God. We\nneed Christ Himself, not His example, to save us. We need a redeeming,\nnot an exemplary Christ, to save us. Paul is here speaking of the\nredeeming Christ and the believing Abraham, not of the model Christ or\nthe sweating Abraham.\n\nThe believing Abraham is not to lie buried in the grave. He is to be\ndusted off and brought out before the world. He is to be praised to the\nsky for his faith. Heaven and earth ought to know about him and about\nhis faith in Christ. The working Abraham ought to look pretty small next\nto the believing Abraham.\n\nPaul\u2019s words contain the implication of contrast. When he quotes\nScripture to the effect that all nations that share the faith of\nfaithful Abraham are to be blessed, Paul means to imply the contrast\nthat all nations are accursed without faith in Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the\n  curse.\n\nThe curse of God is like a flood that swallows everything that is not of\nfaith. To avoid the curse we must hold on to the promise of the blessing\nin Christ.\n\nThe reader is reminded that all this has no bearing upon civil laws,\ncustoms, or political matters. Civil laws and ordinances have their\nplace and purpose. Let every government enact the best possible laws.\nBut civil righteousness will never deliver a person from the\ncondemnation of God\u2019s Law.\n\nI have good reason for calling your attention to this. People easily\nmistake civil righteousness for spiritual righteousness. In civil\nlife we must, of course, pay attention to laws and deeds, but in the\nspiritual life we must not think to be justified by laws and works, but\nalways keep in mind the promise and blessing of Christ, our only Savior.\n\nAccording to Paul everything that is not of faith is sin. When our\nopponents hear us repeat this statement of Paul, they make it appear as\nif we taught that governments should not be honored, as if we favored\nrebellion against the constituted authorities, as if we condemned\nall laws. Our opponents do us a great wrong, for we make a clear-cut\ndistinction between civil and spiritual affairs.\n\nGovernmental laws and ordinances are blessings of God for this life\nonly. As for everlasting life, temporal blessings are not good enough.\nUnbelievers enjoy more temporal blessings than the Christians. Civil\nor legal righteousness may be good enough for this life but not for the\nlife hereafter. Otherwise the infidels would be nearer heaven than the\nChristians, for infidels often excel in civil righteousness.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. For it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in\n   all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.\n\nPaul goes on to prove from this quotation out of the Book of Deuteronomy\nthat all men who are under the Law are under the sentence of sin, of\nthe wrath of God, and of everlasting death. Paul produces his proof in\na roundabout way. He turns the negative statement, \u201cCursed is every one\nthat continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the\nlaw to do them,\u201d into a positive statement, \u201cAs many as are of the works\nof the law are under the curse.\u201d These two statements, one by Paul and\nthe other by Moses, appear to conflict. Paul declares, \u201cWhosoever shall\ndo the works of the Law, is accursed.\u201d Moses declares, \u201cWhosoever\nshall not do the works of the Law, is accursed.\u201d How can these two\ncontradictory statements be reconciled? How can the one statement prove\nthe other? No person can hope to understand Paul unless he understands\nthe article of justification. These two statements are not at all\ninconsistent.\n\nWe must bear in mind that to do the works of the Law does not mean only\nto live up to the superficial requirements of the Law, but to obey the\nspirit of the Law to perfection. But where will you find the person who\ncan do that? Let him step forward and we will praise him.\n\nOur opponents have their answer ready-made. They quote Paul\u2019s own\nstatement in Romans 2:13, \u201cThe doers of the law shall be justified.\u201d\nVery well. But let us first find out who the doers of the law are. They\ncall a \u201cdoer\u201d of the Law one who performs the Law in its literal sense.\nThis is not to \u201cdo\u201d the Law. This is to sin. When our opponents go about\nto perform the Law they sin against the first, the second, and the third\ncommandments, in fact they sin against the whole Law. For God requires\nabove all that we worship Him in spirit and in faith. In observing the\nLaw for the purpose of obtaining righteousness without faith in Christ\nthese law-workers go smack against the Law and against God. They deny\nthe righteousness of God, His mercy, and His promises. They deny Christ\nand all His benefits.\n\nIn their ignorance of the true purpose of the Law the exponents of the\nLaw abuse the Law, as Paul says, Romans 10:3, \u201cFor they, being\nignorant of God\u2019s righteousness, and going about to establish their own\nrighteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of\nGod.\u201d\n\nIn their folly our opponents rush into the Scriptures, pick out a\nsentence here and a sentence there about the Law and imagine they know\nall about it. Their work-righteousness is plain idolatry and blasphemy\nagainst God. No wonder they abide under the curse of God.\n\nBecause God saw that we could not fulfill the Law, He provided a way\nof salvation long before the Law was ever given, a salvation that He\npromised to Abraham, saying, \u201cIn thee shall all nations be blessed.\u201d\n\nThe very first thing for us to do is to believe in Christ. First, we\nmust receive the Holy Spirit, who enlightens and sanctifies us so that\nwe can begin to do the Law, i.e., to love God and our neighbor. Now, the\nHoly Ghost is not obtained by the Law, but by faith in Christ. In the\nlast analysis, to do the Law means to believe in Jesus Christ. The tree\ncomes first, and then come the fruits.\n\nThe scholastics admit that a mere external and superficial performance\nof the Law without sincerity and good will is plain hypocrisy. Judas\nacted like the other disciples. What was wrong with Judas? Mark what\nRome answers, \u201cJudas was a reprobate. His motives were perverse,\ntherefore his works were hypocritical and no good.\u201d Well, well. Rome\ndoes admit, after all, that works in themselves do not justify unless\nthey issue from a sincere heart. Why do our opponents not profess the\nsame truth in spiritual matters? There, above all, faith must precede\neverything. The heart must be purified by faith before a person can lift\na finger to please God.\n\nThere are two classes of doers of the Law, true doers and hypocritical\ndoers. The true doers of the Law are those who are moved by faith in\nChrist to do the Law. The hypocritical doers of the Law are those who\nseek to obtain righteousness by a mechanical performance of good works\nwhile their hearts are far removed from God. They act like the foolish\ncarpenter who starts with the roof when he builds a house. Instead of\ndoing the Law, these law-conscious hypocrites break the Law. They break\nthe very first commandment of God by denying His promise in Christ. They\ndo not worship God in faith. They worship themselves.\n\nNo wonder Paul was able to foretell the abominations that Antichrist\nwould bring into the Church. That Antichrists would come, Christ Himself\nprophesied, Matthew 24:5, \u201cFor many shall come in my name, saying, I am\nChrist; and shall deceive many.\u201d Whoever seeks righteousness by works\ndenies God and makes himself God. He is an Antichrist because he\nascribes to his own works the omnipotent capability of conquering sin,\ndeath, devil, hell, and the wrath of God. An Antichrist lays claim to\nthe honor of Christ. He is an idolater of himself. The law-righteous\nperson is the worst kind of infidel.\n\nThose who intend to obtain righteousness by their own efforts do not say\nin so many words: \u201cI am God; I am Christ.\u201d But it amounts to that. They\nusurp the divinity and office of Christ. The effect is the same as if\nthey said, \u201cI am Christ; I am a Savior. I save myself and others.\u201d This\nis the impression the monks give out.\n\nThe Pope is the Antichrist, because he is against Christ, because he\ntakes liberties with the things of God, because he lords it over the\ntemple of God.\n\nI cannot tell you in words how criminal it is to seek righteousness\nbefore God without faith in Christ, by the works of the Law. It is\nthe abomination standing in the holy place. It deposes the Creator and\ndeifies the creature.\n\nThe real doers of the Law are the true believers. The Holy Spirit\nenables them to love God and their neighbor. But because we have only\nthe first-fruits of the Spirit and not the tenth-fruits, we do not\nobserve the Law perfectly. This imperfection of ours, however, is not\nimputed to us, for Christ\u2019s sake.\n\nHence, the statement of Moses, \u201cCursed is every one that continueth not\nin all things which are written in the book of the law to do them,\u201d is\nnot contrary to Paul. Moses requires perfect doers of the Law. But where\nwill you find them? Nowhere. Moses himself confessed that he was not a\nperfect doer of the Law. He said to the Lord: \u201cPardon our iniquity and\nour sin.\u201d Christ alone can make us innocent of any transgression. How\nso? First, by the forgiveness of our sins and the imputation of His\nrighteousness. Secondly, by the gift of the Holy Ghost, who engenders\nnew life and activity in us.\n\n                Objections to the Doctrine of Faith Disproved\n\nHere we shall take the time to enter upon the objections which our\nopponents raise against the doctrine of faith. There are many passages\nin the Bible that deal with works and the reward of works which our\nopponents cite against us in the belief that these will disprove the\ndoctrine of faith which we teach.\n\nThe scholastics grant that according to the reasonable order of nature\nbeing precedes doing. They grant that any act is faulty unless it\nproceeds from a right motive. They grant that a person must be right\nbefore he can do right. Why don\u2019t they grant that the right inclination\nof the heart toward God through faith in Christ must precede works?\n\nIn the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews we find a\ncatalogue of various works and deeds of the saints of the Bible. David,\nwho killed a lion and a bear, and defeated Goliath, is mentioned. In\nthe heroic deeds of David the scholastic can discover nothing more than\noutward achievement. But the deeds of David must be evaluated according\nto the personality of David. When we understand that David was a man of\nfaith, whose heart trusted in the Lord, we shall understand why he could\ndo such heroic deeds. David said: \u201cThe Lord that delivered me out of the\npaw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out\nof the hand of this Philistine.\u201d Again: \u201cThou comest to me with a sword,\nand with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name\nof the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast\ndefied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will\nsmite thee, and take thine head from thee.\u201d (I Samuel 17:37, 45, 46.)\nBefore David could achieve a single heroic deed he was already a man\nbeloved of God, strong and constant in faith.\n\nOf Abel it is said in the same Epistle: \u201cBy faith Abel offered unto God\na more excellent sacrifice than Cain.\u201d When the scholastics come upon\nthe parallel passage in Genesis 4:4 they get no further than the words:\n\u201cAnd the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.\u201d \u201cAha!\u201d they\ncry. \u201cSee, God has respect to offerings. Works do justify.\u201d With mud in\ntheir eyes they cannot see that the text says in Genesis that the Lord\nhad respect to the person of Abel first. Abel pleased the Lord because\nof his faith. Because the person of Abel pleased the Lord, the offering\nof Abel pleased the Lord also. The Epistle to the Hebrews expressly\nstates: \u201cBy faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice.\u201d\n\nIn our dealings with God the work is worth nothing without faith, for\n\u201cwithout faith it is impossible to please him.\u201d (Hebrews 11:6.) The\nsacrifice of Abel was better than the sacrifice of Cain, because Abel\nhad faith. As to Cain he had no faith or trust in God\u2019s grace, but\nstrutted about in his own fancied worth. When God refused to recognize\nCain\u2019s worth, Cain got angry at God and at Abel. The Holy Spirit speaks\nof faith in different ways in the Sacred Scriptures. Sometimes He speaks\nof faith independently of other matters. When the Scriptures speak\nof faith in the absolute or abstract, faith refers to justification\ndirectly. But when the Scripture speaks of rewards and works it speaks\nof compound or relative faith. We will furnish some examples. Galatians\n5:6, \u201cFaith which worketh by love.\u201d Leviticus 18:5, \u201cWhich if a man do,\nhe shall live in them.\u201d Matthew 19:17, \u201cIf thou wilt enter into life,\nkeep the commandments.\u201d Psalm 37:27, \u201cDepart from evil, and do good.\u201d In\nthese and other passages where mention is made of doing, the Scriptures\nalways speak of a faithful doing, a doing inspired by faith. \u201cDo this\nand thou shalt live,\u201d means: First have faith in Christ, and Christ will\nenable you to do and to live.\n\nIn the Word of God all things that are attributed to works are\nattributable to faith. Faith is the divinity of works. Faith permeates\nall the deeds of the believer, as Christ\u2019s divinity permeated His\nhumanity. Abraham was accounted righteous because faith pervaded his\nwhole personality and his every action.\n\nWhen you read how the fathers, prophets, and kings accomplished great\ndeeds, remember to explain them as the Epistle to the Hebrews accounts\nfor them: \u201cWho through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,\nobtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.\u201d (Hebrews 11:33.) In\nthis way will we correctly interpret all those passages that seem to\nsupport the righteousness of works. The Law is truly observed only\nthrough faith. Hence, every \u201choly,\u201d \u201cmoral\u201d law-worker is accursed.\n\nSupposing that this explanation will not satisfy the scholastics,\nsupposing that they should completely wrap me up in their arguments\n(they cannot do it), I would rather be wrong and give all credit to\nChrist alone. Here is Christ. Paul, Christ\u2019s apostle, declares that\n\u201cChrist hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse\nfor us.\u201d (Gal. 3:13.) I hear with my own ears that I cannot be saved\nexcept by the blood and death of Christ. I conclude, therefore, that it\nis up to Christ to overcome my sins, and not up to the Law, or my own\nefforts. If He is the price of my redemption, if He was made sin for my\njustification, I don\u2019t give a care if you quote me a thousand Scripture\npassages for the righteousness of works against the righteousness of\nfaith. I have the Author and Lord of the Scriptures on my side. I would\nrather believe Him than all that riffraff of \u201cpious\u201d law-workers.\n\n\n  VERSE 11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God,\n  it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.\n\nThe Apostle draws into his argument the testimony of the Prophet\nHabakkuk: \u201cThe just shall live by his faith.\u201d This passage carries much\nweight because it eliminates the Law and the deeds of the Law as factors\nin the process of our justification.\n\nThe scholastics misconstrue this passage by saying: \u201cThe just shall live\nby faith, if it is a working faith, or a faith formed and performed by\ncharitable works.\u201d Their annotation is a forgery. To speak of formed or\nunformed faith, a sort of double faith, is contrary to the Scriptures.\nIf charitable works can form and perfect faith I am forced to say\neventually that charitable deeds constitute the essential factor in the\nChristian religion. Christ and His benefits would be lost to us.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. And the law is not of faith.\n\nIn direct opposition to the scholastics Paul declares: \u201cThe law is not\nof faith.\u201d What is this charity the scholastics talk so much about? Does\nnot the Law command charity? The fact is the Law commands nothing but\ncharity, as we may gather from the following Scripture passages: \u201cThou\nshalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul,\nand with all thy might\u201d (Deut. 6:5.) \u201cStrewing mercy unto thousands of\nthem that love me, and keep my commandments.\u201d (Exodus 20:6.) \u201cOn these\ntwo commandments hang all the law and the prophets.\u201d (Matt. 22:40.) If\nthe law requires charity, charity is part of the Law and not of faith.\nSince Christ has displaced the Law which commands charity, it follows\nthat charity has been abrogated with the Law as a factor in our\njustification, and only faith is left.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. But, The man that doeth them shall live in them.\n\nPaul undertakes to explain the difference between the righteousness of\nthe Law and the righteousness of faith. The righteousness of the Law is\nthe fulfillment of the Law according to the passage: \u201cThe man that doeth\nthem shall live in them.\u201d The righteousness of faith is to believe the\nGospel according to the passage: \u201cThe just shall live by faith.\u201d The\nLaw is a statement of debit, the Gospel a statement of credit. By this\ndistinction Paul explains why charity which is the commandment of\nthe Law cannot justify, because the Law contributes nothing to our\njustification.\n\nIndeed, works do follow after faith, but faith is not therefore a\nmeritorious work. Faith is a gift. The character and limitations of the\nLaw must be rigidly maintained.\n\nWhen we believe in Christ we live by faith. When we believe in the Law\nwe may be active enough but we have no life. The function of the Law\nis not to give life; the function of the Law is to kill. True, the Law\nsays: \u201cThe man that doeth them shall live in them.\u201d But where is the\nperson who can do \u201cthem,\u201d i.e., love God with all his heart, soul, and\nmind, and his neighbor as himself?\n\nPaul has nothing against those who are justified by faith and therefore\nare true doers of the Law. He opposes those who think they can fulfill\nthe Law when in reality they can only sin against the Law by trying to\nobtain righteousness by the Law. The Law demands that we fear, love, and\nworship God with a true faith. The law-workers fail to do this. Instead,\nthey invent new modes of worship and new kinds of works which God never\ncommanded. They provoke His anger according to the passage: \u201cBut in vain\nthey do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.\u201d\n(Matthew 15:9.) Hence, the law-righteous workers are downright rebels\nagainst God, and idolaters who constantly sin against the first\ncommandment. In short, they are no good at-all though outwardly they\nseem to be extremely solicitous of the honor of God.\n\nWe who are justified by faith as the saints of old, may be under the\nLaw, but we are not under the curse of the Law because sin is not\nimputed to us for Christ\u2019s sake. If the Law cannot be fulfilled by the\nbelievers, if sin continues to cling to them despite their love for God,\nwhat can you expect of people who are not yet justified by faith, who\nare still enemies of God and His Word, like the unbelieving law-workers?\nIt goes to show how impossible it is for those who have not been\njustified by faith to fulfill the Law.\n\n\n  VERSE 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being\n  made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that\n  hangeth on a tree.\n\nJerome and his present-day followers rack their miserable brains over\nthis comforting passage in an effort to save Christ from the fancied\ninsult of being called a curse. They say: \u201cThis quotation from Moses\ndoes not apply to Christ. Paul is taking liberties with Moses by\ngeneralizing the statements in Deuteronomy 21:23. Moses has \u2018he that is\nhanged.\u2019 Paul puts it \u2018every one that hangeth.\u2019 On the other hand, Paul\nomits the words \u2018of God\u2019 in his quotation from Moses: \u2018For he that is\nhanged is accursed of God.\u2019 Moses speaks of a criminal who is worthy of\ndeath.\u201d \u201cHow,\u201d our opponents ask, \u201ccan this passage be applied to the\nholy Christ as if He were accursed of God and worthy to be hanged?\u201d This\npiece of exegesis may impress the naive as a zealous attempt to defend\nthe honor and glory of Christ. Let us see what Paul has in mind.\n\nPaul does not say that Christ was made a curse for Himself. The accent\nis on the two words \u201cfor us.\u201d Christ is personally innocent. Personally,\nHe did not deserve to be hanged for any crime of His own doing. But\nbecause Christ took the place of others who were sinners, He was hanged\nlike any other transgressor. The Law of Moses leaves no loopholes. It\nsays that a transgressor should be hanged. Who are the other sinners?\nWe are. The sentence of death and everlasting damnation had long been\npronounced over us. But Christ took all our sins and died for them on\nthe Cross. \u201cHe was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin\nof many, and made intercession for the transgressors.\u201d (Isaiah 53:12.)\n\nAll the prophets of old said that Christ should be the greatest\ntransgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, blasphemer that ever was or\never could be on earth. When He took the sins of the whole world upon\nHimself, Christ was no longer an innocent person. He was a sinner\nburdened with the sins of a Paul who was a blasphemer; burdened with the\nsins of a Peter who denied Christ; burdened with the sins of a David who\ncommitted adultery and murder, and gave the heathen occasion to laugh at\nthe Lord. In short, Christ was charged with the sins of all men, that\nHe should pay for them with His own blood. The curse struck Him. The Law\nfound Him among sinners. He was not only in the company of sinners.\nHe had gone so far as to invest Himself with the flesh and blood of\nsinners. So the Law judged and hanged Him for a sinner.\n\nIn separating Christ from us sinners and holding Him up as a holy\nexemplar, errorists rob us of our best comfort. They misrepresent Him\nas a threatening tyrant who is ready to slaughter us at the slightest\nprovocation.\n\nI am told that it is preposterous and wicked to call the Son of God a\ncursed sinner. I answer: If you deny that He is a condemned sinner, you\nare forced to deny that Christ died. It is not less preposterous to say,\nthe Son of God died, than to say, the Son of God was a sinner.\n\nJohn the Baptist called Him \u201cthe lamb of God, which taketh away the sin\nof the world.\u201d Being the unspotted Lamb of God, Christ was personally\ninnocent. But because He took the sins of the world His sinlessness was\ndefiled with the sinfulness of the world. Whatever sins I, you, all of\nus have committed or shall commit, they are Christ\u2019s sins as if He had\ncommitted them Himself. Our sins have to be Christ\u2019s sins or we shall\nperish forever.\n\nIsaiah declares of Christ: \u201cThe Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of\nus all.\u201d We have no right to minimize the force of this declaration. God\ndoes not amuse Himself with words. What a relief for a Christian to know\nthat Christ is covered all over with my sins, your sins, and the sins of\nthe whole world.\n\nThe papists invented their own doctrine of faith. They say charity\ncreates and adorns their faith. By stripping Christ of our sins, by\nmaking Him sinless, they cast our sins back at us, and make Christ\nabsolutely worthless to us. What sort of charity is this? If that is a\nsample of their vaunted charity we want none of it.\n\nOur merciful Father in heaven saw how the Law oppressed us and how\nimpossible it was for us to get out from under the curse of the Law. He\ntherefore sent His only Son into the world and said to Him: \u201cYou are now\nPeter, the liar; Paul, the persecutor; David, the adulterer; Adam, the\ndisobedient; the thief on the cross. You, My Son, must pay the world\u2019s\niniquity.\u201d The Law growls: \u201cAll right. If Your Son is taking the sin of\nthe world, I see no sins anywhere else but in Him. He shall die on the\nCross.\u201d And the Law kills Christ. But we go free.\n\nThe argument of the Apostle against the righteousness of the Law is\nimpregnable. If Christ bears our sins, we do not bear them. But if\nChrist is innocent of our sins and does not bear them, we must bear\nthem, and we shall die in our sins. \u201cBut thanks be to God, which giveth\nus the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\n\nLet us see how Christ was able to gain the victory over our enemies. The\nsins of the whole world, past, present, and future, fastened themselves\nupon Christ and condemned Him. But because Christ is God He had an\neverlasting and unconquerable righteousness. These two, the sin of the\nworld and the righteousness of God, met in a death struggle. Furiously\nthe sin of the world assailed the righteousness of God. Righteousness is\nimmortal and invincible. On the other hand, sin is a mighty tyrant\nwho subdues all men. This tyrant pounces on Christ. But Christ\u2019s\nrighteousness is unconquerable. The result is inevitable. Sin is\ndefeated and righteousness triumphs and reigns forever.\n\nIn the same manner was death defeated. Death is emperor of the world.\nHe strikes down kings, princes, all men. He has an idea to destroy all\nlife. But Christ has immortal life, and life immortal gained the victory\nover death. Through Christ death has lost her sting. Christ is the Death\nof death.\n\nThe curse of God waged a similar battle with the eternal mercy of God in\nChrist. The curse meant to condemn God\u2019s mercy. But it could not do it\nbecause the mercy of God is everlasting. The curse had to give way. If\nthe mercy of God in Christ had lost out, God Himself would have lost\nout, which, of course, is impossible.\n\n\u201cChrist,\u201d says Paul, \u201cspoiled principalities and powers, He made a show\nof them openly, triumphing over them in it.\u201d (Col. 2:15.) They cannot\nharm those who hide in Christ. Sin, death, the wrath of God, hell, the\ndevil are mortified in Christ. Where Christ is near the powers of evil\nmust keep their distance. St. John says: \u201cAnd this is the victory that\novercometh the world, even our faith.\u201d (I John 5:4.)\n\nYou may now perceive why it is imperative to believe and confess the\ndivinity of Christ. To overcome the sin of a whole world, and death,\nand the wrath of God was no work for any creature. The power of sin and\ndeath could be broken only by a greater power. God alone could abolish\nsin, destroy death, and take away the curse of the Law. God alone could\nbring righteousness, life, and mercy to light. In attributing these\nachievements to Christ the Scriptures pronounce Christ to be God\nforever. The article of justification is indeed fundamental. If we\nremain sound in this one article, we remain sound in all the other\narticles of the Christian faith. When we teach justification by faith in\nChrist we confess at the same time that Christ is God.\n\nI cannot get over the blindness of the Pope\u2019s theologians. To imagine\nthat the mighty forces of sin, death, and the curse can be vanquished\nby the righteousness of man\u2019s paltry works, by fasting, pilgrimages,\nmasses, vows, and such gewgaws. These blind leaders of the blind turn\nthe poor people over to the mercy of sin, death, and the devil.\nWhat chance has a defenseless human creature against these powers of\ndarkness? They train sinners who are ten times worse than any thief,\nwhore, murderer. The divine power of God alone can destroy sin and\ndeath, and create righteousness and life.\n\nWhen we hear that Christ was made a curse for us, let us believe it with\njoy and assurance. By faith Christ changes places with us. He gets our\nsins, we get His holiness.\n\nBy faith alone can we become righteous, for faith invests us with the\nsinlessness of Christ. The more fully we believe this, the fuller will\nbe our joy. If you believe that sin, death, and the curse are void, why,\nthey are null, zero. Whenever sin and death make you nervous write it\ndown as an illusion of the devil. There is no sin now, no curse, no\ndeath, no devil because Christ has done away with them. This fact is\nsure. There is nothing wrong with the fact. The defect lies in our lack\nof faith.\n\nIn the Apostolic Creed we confess: \u201cI believe in the holy Christian\nChurch.\u201d That means, I believe that there is no sin, no curse, no evil\nin the Church of God. Faith says: \u201cI believe that.\u201d But if you want to\nbelieve your eyes you will find many shortcomings and offenses in the\nmembers of the holy Church. You see them succumb to temptation, you see\nthem weak in faith, you see them giving way to anger, envy, and other\nevil dispositions. \u201cHow can the Church be holy?\u201d you ask. It is with the\nChristian Church as it is with the individual Christian. If I examine\nmyself I find enough unholiness to shock me. But when I look at Christ\nin me I find that I am altogether holy. And so it is with the Church.\n\nHoly Writ does not say that Christ was under the curse. It says directly\nthat Christ was made a curse. In II Corinthians 5:21 Paul writes: \u201cFor\nhe (God) hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that\nwe might be made the righteousness of God in him.\u201d Although this and\nsimilar passages may be properly explained by saying that Christ was\nmade a sacrifice for the curse and for sin, yet in my judgment it is\nbetter to leave these passages stand as they read: Christ was made sin\nitself; Christ was made the curse itself. When a sinner gets wise\nto himself he does not only feel miserable, he feels like misery\npersonified; he does not only feel like a sinner, he feels like sin\nitself.\n\nTo finish with this verse: All evils would have overwhelmed us, as they\nshall overwhelm the unbelievers forever, if Christ had not become the\ngreat transgressor and guilty bearer of all our sins. The sins of the\nworld got Him down for a moment. They came around Him like water. Of\nChrist, the Old Testament Prophet complained: \u201cThy fierce wrath goeth\nover me; thy terrors have cut me off.\u201d (Psalm 88 16.) By Christ\u2019s\nsalvation we have been delivered from the terrors of God to a life of\neternal felicity.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. That the blessing of Abraham might come, on the Gentiles\n  through Jesus Christ.\n\nPaul always keeps this text before him: \u201cIn thy seed shall all the\nnations of the earth be blessed.\u201d The blessing promised unto Abraham\ncould come upon the Gentiles only by Christ, the seed of Abraham. To\nbecome a blessing unto all nations Christ had to be made a curse to take\naway the curse from the nations of the earth. The merit that we plead,\nand the work that we proffer is Christ who was made a curse for us.\n\nLet us become expert in the art of transferring our sins, our death,\nand every evil from ourselves to Christ; and Christ\u2019s righteousness and\nblessing from Christ to ourselves.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.\n\n\u201cThe promise of the Spirit\u201d is Hebrew for \u201cthe promised Spirit.\u201d The\nSpirit spells freedom from the Law, sin, death, the curse, hell, and the\njudgment of God. No merits are mentioned in connection with this promise\nof the Spirit and all the blessings that go with Him. This Spirit of\nmany blessings is received by faith alone. Faith alone builds on the\npromises of God, as Paul says in this verse.\n\nLong ago the prophets visualized the happy changes Christ would effect\nin all things. Despite the fact that the Jews had the Law of God they\nnever ceased to look longingly for Christ. After Moses no prophet or\nking added a single law to the Book. Any changes or additions were\ndeferred to the time of Christ\u2019s coming. Moses told the people: \u201cThe\nLord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee,\nof thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.\u201d (Deut.\n18:15.)\n\nGod\u2019s people of old felt that the Law of Moses could not be improved\nupon until the Messiah would bring better things than the Law, i.e.,\ngrace and remission of sins.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but\n  a man\u2019s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or\n  addeth thereto.\n\nAfter the preceding, well-taken argument, Paul offers another based on\nthe similarity between a man\u2019s testament and God\u2019s testament. A man\u2019s\ntestament seems too weak a premise for the Apostle to argue from in\nconfirmation of so important a matter as justification. We ought to\nprove earthly things by heavenly things, and not heavenly things by\nearthly things. But where the earthly thing is an ordinance of God\nwe may use it to prove divine matters. In Matthew 7:11 Christ Himself\nargued from earthly to heavenly things when He said: \u201cIf ye then, being\nevil, know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall\nyour Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?\u201d\n\nTo come to Paul\u2019s argument. Civil law, which is God\u2019s ordinance,\nprohibits tampering with any testament of man. Any person\u2019s last will\nand testament must be respected. Paul asks: \u201cWhy is it that man\u2019s last\nwill is scrupulously respected and not God\u2019s testament? You would not\nthink of breaking faith with a man\u2019s testament. Why do you not keep\nfaith with God\u2019s testament?\u201d\n\nThe Apostle says that he is speaking after the manner of men. He means\nto say: \u201cI will give you an illustration from the customs of men. If\na man\u2019s last will is respected, and it is, how much more ought the\ntestament of God be honored: \u2018In thy seed shall all the nations of the\nearth be blessed.\u2019 When Christ died, this testament was sealed by His\nblood. After His death the testament was opened, it was published to the\nnations. No man ought to alter God\u2019s testament as the false apostles do\nwho substitute the Law and traditions of men for the testament of God.\u201d\n\nAs the false prophets tampered with God\u2019s testament in the days of Paul,\nso many do in our day. They will observe human laws punctiliously, but\nthe laws of God they transgress without the flicker of an eyelid. But\nthe time will come when they will find out that it is no joke to pervert\nthe testament of God.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He\n  saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,\n  which is Christ.\n\nThe word testament is another name for the promise that God made unto\nAbraham concerning Christ. A testament is not a law, but an inheritance.\nHeirs do not look for laws and assessments when they open a last will;\nthey look for grants and favors. The testament which God made out to\nAbraham did not contain laws. It contained promises of great spiritual\nblessings.\n\nThe promises were made in view of Christ, in one seed, not in many\nseeds. The Jews will not accept this interpretation. They insist\nthat the singular \u201cseed\u201d is put for the plural \u201cseeds.\u201d We prefer the\ninterpretation of Paul, who makes a fine case for Christ and for us out\nof the singular \u201cseed,\u201d and is after all inspired to do so by the Holy\nGhost.\n\n\n  VERSE 17. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before\n  of God in Christ, the law which was four hundred and thirty years\n  after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.\n\nThe Jews assert that God was not satisfied with His promises, but after\nfour hundred and thirty years He gave the Law. \u201cGod,\u201d they say, \u201cmust\nhave mistrusted His own promises, and considered them inadequate for\nsalvation. Therefore He added to His promises something better, the Law.\nThe Law,\u201d they say, \u201ccanceled the promises.\u201d\n\nPaul answers: \u201cThe Law was given four hundred and thirty years after\nthe promise was made to Abraham. The Law could not cancel the promise\nbecause the promise was the testament of God, confirmed by God in Christ\nmany years before the Law. What God has once promised He does not take\nback. Every promise of God is a ratified promise.\u201d\n\nWhy was the Law added to the promise? Not to serve as a medium by which\nthe promise might be obtained. The Law was added for these reasons: That\nthere might be in the world a special people, rigidly controlled by the\nLaw, a people out of which Christ should be born in due time; and that\nmen burdened by many laws might sigh and long for Him, their Redeemer,\nthe seed of Abraham. Even the ceremonies prescribed by the Law\nforeshadowed Christ. Therefore the Law was never meant to cancel the\npromise of God. The Law was meant to confirm the promise until the time\nshould come when God would open His testament in the Gospel of Jesus\nChrist.\n\nGod did well in giving the promise so many years before the Law, that it\nmay never be said that righteousness is granted through the Law and not\nthrough the promise. If God had meant for us to be justified by the Law,\nHe would have given the Law four hundred and thirty years before the\npromise, at least He would have given the Law at the same time He gave\nthe promise. But He never breathed a word about the Law until four\nhundred years after. The promise is therefore better than the Law.\nThe Law does not cancel the promise, but faith in the promised Christ\ncancels the Law.\n\nThe Apostle is careful to mention the exact number of four hundred and\nthirty years. The wide divergence in the time between the promise\nand the Law helps to clinch Paul\u2019s argument that righteousness is not\nobtained by the Law.\n\nLet me illustrate. A man of great wealth adopts a strange lad for his\nson. Remember, he does not owe the lad anything. In due time he appoints\nthe lad heir to his entire fortune. Several years later the old man asks\nthe lad to do something for him. And the young lad does it. Can the lad\nthen go around and say that he deserved the inheritance by his obedience\nto the old man\u2019s request? How can anybody say that righteousness is\nobtained by obedience to the Law when the Law was given four hundred and\nthirty years after God\u2019s promise of the blessing?\n\nOne thing is certain, Abraham was never justified by the Law, for\nthe simple reason that the Law was not in his day. If the Law was\nnon-existent how could Abraham obtain righteousness by the Law? Abraham\nhad nothing else to go by but the promise. This promise he believed\nand that was counted unto him for righteousness. If the father obtained\nrighteousness through faith, the children get it the same way.\n\nWe use the argument of time also. We say our sins were taken away by the\ndeath of Christ fifteen hundred years ago, long before there were any\nreligious orders, canons, or rules of penance, merits, etc. What did\npeople do about their sins before these new inventions were hatched up?\n\nPaul finds his arguments for the righteousness of faith everywhere. Even\nthe element of time serves to build his case against the false apostles.\nLet us fortify our conscience with similar arguments. They help us in\nthe trials of our faith. They turn our attention from the Law to the\npromises, from sin to righteousness; from death to life.\n\nIt is not for nothing that Paul bears down on this argument. He foresaw\nthis confusion of the promise and the Law creeping into the Church.\nAccustom yourself to separate Law and Gospel even in regard to time.\nWhen the Law comes to pay your conscience a visit, say: \u201cMister Law,\nyou come too soon. The four hundred and thirty years aren\u2019t up yet. When\nthey are up, you come again. Won\u2019t you?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 18. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of\n  promise.\n\nIn Romans 4:14, the Apostle writes: \u201cFor if they which are made of the\nlaw be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect.\u201d\nIt cannot be otherwise. That the Law is something entirely different\nfrom the promise is plain. The Law thunders: \u201cThou shalt, thou shalt\nnot.\u201d The promise of the \u201cseed\u201d pleads: \u201cTake this gift of God.\u201d If the\ninheritance of the gifts of God were obtained by the Law, God would be a\nliar. We would have the right to ask Him: \u201cWhy did you make this promise\nin the first place: \u2018In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be\nblessed\u2019? Why did you not say: \u2018In thy works thou shalt be blessed\u2019?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 18. But God gave it to Abraham by promise.\n\nSo much is certain, before the Law ever existed, God gave Abraham the\ninheritance or blessing by the promise. In other words, God granted unto\nAbraham remission of sins, righteousness, salvation, and everlasting\nlife. And not only to Abraham but to all believers, because God said:\n\u201cIn thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.\u201d The\nblessing was given unconditionally. The Law had no chance to butt in\nbecause Moses was not yet born. \u201cHow then can you say that righteousness\nis obtained by the Law?\u201d\n\nThe Apostle now goes to work to explain the province and purpose of the\nLaw.\n\n\n  VERSE 19. Wherefore then serveth the law?\n\nThe question naturally arises: If the Law was not given for\nrighteousness or salvation, why was it given? Why did God give the Law\nin the first place if it cannot justify a person?\n\nThe Jews believed if they kept the Law they would be saved. When they\nheard that the Gospel proclaimed a Christ who had come into the world to\nsave sinners and not the righteous; when they heard that sinners were\nto enter the kingdom of heaven before the righteous, the Jews were very\nmuch put out. They murmured: \u201cThese last have wrought but one hour, and\nthou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat\nof the day.\u201d (Matthew 20:12.) They complained that the heathen who\nat one time had been worshipers of idols obtained grace without the\ndrudgery of the Law that was theirs.\n\nToday we hear the same complaints. \u201cWhat was the use of our having lived\nin a cloister, twenty, thirty, forty years; what was the sense of having\nvowed chastity, poverty, obedience; what good are all the masses and\ncanonical hours that we read; what profit is there in fasting, praying,\netc., if any man or woman, any beggar or scour woman is to be made equal\nto us, or even be considered more acceptable unto God than we?\u201d\n\nReason takes offense at the statement of Paul: \u201cThe law was added\nbecause of transgressions.\u201d People say that Paul abrogated the Law, that\nhe is a radical, that he blasphemed God when he said that. People say:\n\u201cWe might as well live like wild people if the Law does not count. Let\nus abound in sin that grace may abound. Let us do evil that good may\ncome of it.\u201d\n\nWhat are we to do? Such scoffing distresses us, but we cannot stop it.\nChrist Himself was accused of being a blasphemer and rebel. Paul and all\nthe other apostles were told the same things. Let the scoffers slander\nus, let them spare us not. But we must not on their account keep silent.\nWe must speak frankly in order that afflicted consciences may find\nsurcease. Neither are we to pay any attention to the foolish and ungodly\npeople for abusing our doctrine. They are the kind that would scoff,\nLaw or no Law. Our first consideration must be the comfort of troubled\nconsciences, that they may not perish with the multitudes.\n\nWhen he saw that some were offended at his doctrine, while others found\nin it encouragement to live after the flesh, Paul comforted himself with\nthe thought that it was his duty to preach the Gospel to the elect of\nGod, and that for their sake he must endure all things. Like Paul\nwe also do all these things for the sake of God\u2019s elect. As for the\nscoffers and skeptics, I am so disgusted with them that in all my life I\nwould not open my mouth for them once. I wish that they were back there\nwhere they belong under the iron heel of the Pope.\n\nPeople foolish but wise in their conceits jump to the conclusion: If the\nLaw does not justify, it is good for nothing. How about that? Because\nmoney does not justify, would you say that money is good for nothing?\nBecause the eyes do not justify, would you have them taken out? Because\nthe Law does not justify it does not follow that the Law is without\nvalue. We must find and define the proper purpose of the Law. We do not\noffhand condemn the Law because we say it does not justify.\n\nWe say with Paul that the Law is good if it is used properly. Within its\nproper sphere the Law is an excellent thing. But if we ascribe to the\nLaw functions for which it was never intended, we pervert not only\nthe Law but also the Gospel. It is the universal impression that\nrighteousness is obtained through the deeds of the Law. This impression\nis instinctive and therefore doubly dangerous. Gross sins and vices may\nbe recognized or else repressed by the threat of punishment. But this\nsin, this opinion of man\u2019s own righteousness refuses to be classified\nas sin. It wants to be esteemed as high-class religion. Hence, it\nconstitutes the mighty influence of the devil over the entire world.\nIn order to point out the true office of the Law, and thus to stamp out\nthat false impression of the righteousness of the Law, Paul answers the\nquestion: \u201cWherefore then serveth the Law?\u201d with the words:\n\n\n  VERSE 19. It was added because of transgressions.\n\nAll things differ. Let everything serve its unique purpose. Let the sun\nshine by day, the moon and the stars by night. Let the sea furnish fish,\nthe earth grain, the woods trees, etc. Let the Law also serve its\nunique purpose. It must not step out of character and take the place of\nanything else. What is the function of the Law? \u201cTransgression,\u201d answers\nthe Apostle.\n\n                       The Twofold Purpose of the Law\n\nThe Law has a twofold purpose. One purpose is civil. God has ordained\ncivil laws to punish crime. Every law is given to restrain sin. Does it\nnot then make men righteous? No. In refraining from murder, adultery,\ntheft, or other sins, I do so under compulsion because I fear the jail,\nthe noose, the electric chair. These restrain me as iron bars restrain\na lion and a bear. Otherwise they would tear everything to pieces. Such\nforceful restraint cannot be regarded as righteousness, rather as an\nindication of unrighteousness. As a wild beast is tied to keep it from\nrunning amuck, so the Law bridles mad and furious man to keep him from\nrunning wild. The need for restraint shows plainly enough that those who\nneed the Law are not righteous, but wicked men who are fit to be tied.\nNo, the Law does not justify.\n\n  The first purpose of the Law, accordingly, is to restrain the wicked.\n  The devil gets people into all kinds of scrapes. Therefore God\n  instituted governments, parents, laws, restrictions, and civil\n  ordinances. At least they help to tie the devil\u2019s hands so that he does\n  not rage up and down the earth. This civil restraint by the Law is\n  intended by God for the preservation of all things, particularly for the\n  good of the Gospel that it should not be hindered too much by the\n  tumult of the wicked. But Paul is not now treating of this civil use\n  and function of the Law.\n\n  The second purpose of the Law is spiritual and divine. Paul describes\n  this spiritual purpose of the Law in the words, \u201cBecause of\n  transgressions,\u201d i.e., to reveal to a person his sin, blindness, misery,\n  his ignorance, hatred, and contempt of God, his death, hell, and\n  condemnation.\n\nThis is the principal purpose of the Law and its most valuable\ncontribution. As long as a person is not a murderer, adulterer, thief,\nhe would swear that he is righteous. How is God going to humble such a\nperson except by the Law? The Law is the hammer of death, the thunder\nof hell, and the lightning of God\u2019s wrath to bring down the proud and\nshameless hypocrites. When the Law was instituted on Mount Sinai it was\naccompanied by lightning, by storms, by the sound of trumpets, to tear\nto pieces that monster called self-righteousness. As long as a person\nthinks he is right he is going to be incomprehensibly proud and\npresumptuous. He is going to hate God, despise His grace and mercy, and\nignore the promises in Christ. The Gospel of the free forgiveness of\nsins through Christ will never appeal to the self-righteous.\n\nThis monster of self-righteousness, this stiff-necked beast, needs a big\naxe. And that is what the Law is, a big axe. Accordingly, the proper use\nand function of the Law is to threaten until the conscience is scared\nstiff.\n\nThe awful spectacle at Mount Sinai portrayed the proper use of the Law.\nWhen the children of Israel came out of Egypt a feeling of singular\nholiness possessed them. They boasted: \u201cWe are the people of God.\nAll that the Lord hath spoken we will do.\u201d (Ex. 19:8) This feeling of\nholiness was heightened when Moses ordered them to wash their clothes,\nto refrain from their wives, and to prepare themselves all around. The\nthird day came and Moses led the people out of their tents to the foot\nof the mountain into the presence of the Lord. What happened? When the\nchildren of Israel saw the whole mountain burning and smoking, the\nblack clouds rent by fierce lightning flashing up and down in the inky\ndarkness, when they heard the sound of the trumpet blowing louder and\nlonger, shattered by the roll of thunder, they were so frightened that\nthey begged Moses: \u201cSpeak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not\nGod speak with us, lest we die.\u201d (Ex. 20:19.) I ask you, what good did\ntheir scrubbing, their snow-white clothes, and their continence do them?\nNo good at all. Not a single one could stand in the presence of the\nglorious Lord. Stricken by the terror of God, they fled back into their\ntents, as if the devil were after them.\n\nThe Law is meant to produce the same effect today which it produced at\nMount Sinai long ago. I want to encourage all who fear God, especially\nthose who intend to become ministers of the Gospel, to learn from the\nApostle the proper use of the Law. I fear that after our time the\nright handling of the Law will become a lost art. Even now, although we\ncontinually explain the separate functions of the Law and the Gospel,\nwe have those among us who do not understand how the Law should be used.\nWhat will it be like when we are dead and gone?\n\nWe want it understood that we do not reject the Law as our opponents\nclaim. On the contrary, we uphold the Law. We say the Law is good if\nit is used for the purposes for which it was designed, to check civil\ntransgression, and to magnify spiritual transgressions. The Law is also\na light like the Gospel. But instead of revealing the grace of God,\nrighteousness, and life, the Law brings sin, death, and the wrath of God\nto light. This is the business of the Law, and here the business of the\nLaw ends, and should go no further.\n\nThe business of the Gospel, on the other hand, is to quicken, to\ncomfort, to raise the fallen. The Gospel carries the news that God for\nChrist\u2019s sake is merciful to the most unworthy sinners, if they will\nonly believe that Christ by His death has delivered them from sin and\neverlasting death unto grace, forgiveness, and everlasting life. By\nkeeping in mind the difference between the Law and the Gospel we let\neach perform its special task. Of this difference between the Law and\nthe Gospel nothing can be discovered in the writings of the monks or\nscholastics, nor for that matter in the writings of the ancient fathers.\nAugustine understood the difference somewhat. Jerome and others knew\nnothing of it. The silence in the Church concerning the difference\nbetween the Law and the Gospel has resulted in untold harm. Unless a\nsharp distinction is maintained between the purpose and function of\nthe Law and the Gospel, the Christian doctrine cannot be kept free from\nerror.\n\n\n  VERSE 19. It was added because of transgressions.\n\nIn other words, that transgressions might be recognized as such and\nthus increased. When sin, death, and the wrath of God are revealed to\na person by the Law, he grows impatient, complains against God, and\nrebels. Before that he was a very holy man; he worshipped and praised\nGod; he bowed his knees before God and gave thanks, like the Pharisee.\nBut now that sin and death are revealed to him by the Law he wishes\nthere were no God. The Law inspires hatred of God. Thus sin is not only\nrevealed by the Law; sin is actually increased and magnified by the Law.\n\nThe Law is a mirror to show a person what he is like, a sinner who is\nguilty of death, and worthy of everlasting punishment. What is this\nbruising and beating by the hand of the Law to accomplish? This, that we\nmay find the way to grace. The Law is an usher to lead the way to grace.\nGod is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted. It is\nHis nature to exalt the humble, to comfort the sorrowing, to heal the\nbroken-hearted, to justify the sinners, and to save the condemned.\nThe fatuous idea that a person can be holy by himself denies God\nthe pleasure of saving sinners. God must therefore first take\nthe sledge-hammer of the Law in His fists and smash the beast of\nself-righteousness and its brood of self-confidence, self-wisdom,\nself-righteousness, and self-help. When the conscience has been\nthoroughly frightened by the Law it welcomes the Gospel of grace with\nits message of a Savior who came into the world, not to break the\nbruised reed, nor to quench the smoking flax, but to preach glad tidings\nto the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, and to grant forgiveness of\nsins to all the captives.\n\nMan\u2019s folly, however, is so prodigious that instead of embracing the\nmessage of grace with its guarantee of the forgiveness of sin for\nChrist\u2019s sake, man finds himself more laws to satisfy his conscience.\n\u201cIf I live,\u201d says he, \u201cI will mend my life. I will do this, I will do\nthat.\u201d Man, if you don\u2019t do the very opposite, if you don\u2019t send Moses\nwith the Law back to Mount Sinai and take the hand of Christ, pierced\nfor your sins, you will never be saved.\n\nWhen the Law drives you to the point of despair, let it drive you a\nlittle farther, let it drive you straight into the arms of Jesus who\nsays: \u201cCome unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will\ngive you rest.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 19. Till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.\n\nThe Law is not to have its say indefinitely. We must know how long the\nLaw is to put in its licks. If it hammers away too long, no person would\nand could be saved. The Law has a boundary beyond which it must not go.\nHow long ought the Law to hold sway? \u201cTill the seed should come to whom\nthe promise was made.\u201d That may be taken literally to mean until the\ntime of the Gospel. \u201cFrom the days of John the Baptist,\u201d says Jesus,\n\u201cuntil now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent\ntake it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until\nJohn.\u201d (Matthew 11:12, 13.) When Christ came the Law and the ceremonies\nof Moses ceased.\n\nSpiritually, it means that the Law is not to operate on a person after\nhe has been humbled and frightened by the exposure of his sins and the\nwrath of God. We must then say to the Law: \u201cMister Law, lay off him. He\nhas had enough. You scared him good and proper.\u201d Now it is the Gospel\u2019s\nturn. Now let Christ with His gracious lips talk to him of better\nthings, grace, peace, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.\n\n\n  VERSE 19. And it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.\n\nThe Apostle digresses a little from his immediate theme. Something\noccurred to him and he throws it in by the way. It occurred to him\nthat the Law differs from the Gospel in another respect, in respect to\nauthorship. The Law was delivered by the angels, but the Gospel by the\nLord Himself. Hence, the Gospel is superior to the Law, as the word of a\nlord is superior to the word of his servant.\n\nThe Law was handed down by a being even inferior to the angels, by a\nmiddleman named Moses. Paul wants us to understand that Christ is the\nmediator of a better testament than mediator Moses of the Law. Moses led\nthe people out of their tents to meet God. But they ran away. That is\nhow good a mediator Moses was.\n\nPaul says: \u201cHow can the Law justify when that whole sanctified people of\nIsrael and even mediator Moses trembled at the voice of God? What kind\nof righteousness do you call that when people run away from it and hate\nit the worst way? If the Law could justify, people would love the Law.\nBut look at the children of Israel running away from it.\u201d\n\nThe flight of the children of Israel from Mount Sinai indicates how\npeople feel about the Law. They don\u2019t like it. If this were the only\nargument to prove that salvation is not by the Law, this one Bible\nhistory would do the work. What kind of righteousness is this\nlaw-righteousness when at the commencement exercises of the Law Moses\nand the scrubbed people run away from it so fast that an iron mountain,\nthe Red Sea even, could not have stopped them until they were back in\nEgypt once again? If they could not hear the Law, how could they ever\nhope to perform the Law?\n\nIf all the world had stood at the mountain, all the world would have\nhated the Law and fled from it as the children of Israel did. The whole\nworld is an enemy of the Law. How, then, can anyone be justified by the\nLaw when everybody hates the Law and its divine author?\n\nAll this goes to show how little the scholastics know about the Law.\nThey do not consider its spiritual effect and purpose, which is not\nto justify or to pacify afflicted consciences, but to increase sin, to\nterrify the conscience, and to produce wrath. In their ignorance the\npapists spout about man\u2019s good will and right judgment, and man\u2019s\ncapacity to perform the Law of God. Ask the people of Israel who were\npresent at the presentation of the Law on Mount Sinai whether what the\nscholastics say is true. Ask David, who often complains in the Psalms\nthat he was cast away from God and in hell, that he was frantic about\nhis sin, and sick at the thought of the wrath and judgment of God. No,\nthe Law does not justify.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one.\n\nHere the Apostle briefly compares the two mediators: Moses and Christ.\n\u201cA mediator,\u201d says Paul, \u201cis not a mediator of one.\u201d He is necessarily\na mediator of two: The offender and the offended. Moses was such a\nmediator between the Law and the people who were offended at the Law.\nThey were offended at the Law because they did not understand its\npurpose. That was the veil which Moses put over his face. The people\nwere also offended at the Law because they could not look at the bare\nface of Moses. It shone with the glory of God. When Moses addressed the\npeople he had to cover his face with that veil of his. They could not\nlisten to their mediator Moses without another mediator, the veil. The\nLaw had to change its face and voice. In other words, the Law had to be\nmade tolerable to the people.\n\nThus covered, the Law no longer spoke to the people in its undisguised\nmajesty. It became more tolerable to the conscience. This explains\nwhy men fail to understand the Law properly, with the result that they\nbecome secure and presumptuous hypocrites. One of two things has to be\ndone: Either the Law must be covered with a veil and then it loses its\nfull effectiveness, or it must be unveiled and then the full blast of\nits force kills. Man cannot stand the Law without a veil over it. Hence,\nwe are forced either to look beyond the Law to Christ, or we go through\nlife as shameless hypocrites and secure sinners.\n\nPaul says: \u201cA mediator is not a mediator of one.\u201d Moses could not be a\nmediator of God only, for God needs no mediator. Again, Moses could not\nbe a mediator of the people only. He was a mediator between God and the\npeople. It is the office of a mediator to conciliate the party that is\noffended and to placate the party that is the offender. However, Moses\u2019\nmediation consisted only in changing the tone of the Law to make it more\ntolerable to the people. Moses was merely a mediator of the veil. He\ncould not supply the ability to perform the Law.\n\nWhat do you suppose would have happened if the Law had been given\nwithout a mediator and the people had been denied the services of a\ngo-between? The people would have perished, or in case they had escaped\nthey would have required the services of another mediator to preserve\nthem alive and to keep the Law in force. Moses came along and he was\nmade the mediator. He covered his face with a veil. But that is as much\nas he could do. He could not deliver men\u2019s consciences from the terror\nof the Law. The sinner needs a better mediator.\n\nThat better mediator is Jesus Christ. He does not change the voice of\nthe Law, nor does He hide the Law with a veil. He takes the full blast\nof the wrath of the Law and fulfills its demands most meticulously.\n\nOf this better Mediator Paul says: \u201cA mediator is not a mediator of\none.\u201d We are the offending party; God is the party offended. The offense\nis of such a nature that God cannot pardon it. Neither can we render\nadequate satisfaction for our offenses. There is discord between God and\nus. Could not God revoke His Law? No. How about running away from God?\nIt cannot be done. It took Christ to come between us and God and to\nreconcile God to us. How did Christ do it? \u201cBlotting out the handwriting\nof ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it\nout of the way, nailing it to his cross.\u201d (Col. 2:14.)\n\nThis one word, \u201cmediator,\u201d is proof enough that the Law cannot justify.\nOtherwise we should not need a mediator.\n\nIn Christian theology the Law does not justify. In fact it has the\ncontrary effect. The Law alarms us, it magnifies our sins until we\nbegin to hate the Law and its divine Author. Would you call this being\njustified by the Law?\n\nCan you imagine a more arrant outrage than to hate God and to abhor His\nLaw? What an excellent Law it is. Listen: \u201cI am the Lord thy God, which\nhave brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.\nThou shalt have no other gods...showing mercy unto thousands... honor\nthy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land...\u201d\n(Ex. 20:2, 3, 6, 12.) Are these not excellent laws, perfect wisdom? \u201cLet\nnot God speak with us, lest we die,\u201d cried the children of Israel. Is it\nnot amazing that a person should refuse to hear things that are good\nfor him? Any person would be glad to hear, I should think, that he has\na gracious God who shows mercy unto thousands. Is it not amazing that\npeople hate the Law that promotes their safety and welfare, e.g., \u201cThou\nshalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal\u201d?\n\nThe Law can do nothing for us except to arouse the conscience. Before\nthe Law comes to me I feel no sin. But when the Law comes, sin,\ndeath, and hell are revealed to me. You would not call this being made\nrighteous. You would call it being condemned to death and hell-fire.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. But God is one.\n\nGod does not offend anybody, therefore He needs no mediator. But we\noffend God, therefore we need a mediator. And we need a better mediator\nthan Moses. We need Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. Is the law then against the promises of God?\n\nBefore he digressed Paul stated that the Law does not justify. Shall we\nthen discard the Law? No, no. It supplies a certain need. It supplies\nmen with a needed realization of their sinfulness. Now arises another\nquestion: If the Law does no more than to reveal sin, does it not\noppose the promises of God? The Jews believed that by the restraint and\ndiscipline of the Law the promises of God would be hastened, in fact\nearned by them.\n\nPaul answers: \u201cNot so. On the contrary, if we pay too much attention to\nthe Law the promises of God will be slowed up. How can God fulfill His\npromises to a people that hates the Law?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 21. God forbid.\n\nGod never said to Abraham: \u201cIn thee shall all the nations of the earth\nbe blessed because thou hast kept the Law.\u201d When Abraham was still\nuncircumcised and without the Law or any law, indeed, when he was still\nan idol worshiper, God said to him: \u201cGet thee out of thy country, etc.;\nI am thy shield, etc.; In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth\nbe blessed.\u201d These are unconditional promises which God freely made to\nAbraham without respect to works.\n\nThis is aimed especially at the Jews who think that the promises of God\nare impeded by their sins. Paul says: \u201cThe Lord is not slack concerning\nHis promises because of our sins, or hastens His promises because of any\nmerit on our part.\u201d God\u2019s promises are not influenced by our attitudes.\nThey rest in His goodness and mercy.\n\nJust because the Law increases sin, it does not therefore obstruct the\npromises of God. The Law confirms the promises, in that it prepares a\nperson to look for the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ.\n\nThe proverb has it that Hunger is the best cook. The Law makes afflicted\nconsciences hungry for Christ. Christ tastes good to them. Hungry hearts\nappreciate Christ. Thirsty souls are what Christ wants. He invites them:\n\u201cCome unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give\nyou rest.\u201d Christ\u2019s benefits are so precious that He will dispense them\nonly to those who need them and really desire them.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. For if there had been a law given which could have given\n  life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.\n\nThe Law cannot give life. It kills. The Law does not justify a person\nbefore God; it increases sin. The Law does not secure righteousness; it\nhinders righteousness. The Apostle declares emphatically that the Law of\nitself cannot save.\n\nDespite the intelligibility of Paul\u2019s statement, our enemies fail\nto grasp it. Otherwise they would not emphasize free will, natural\nstrength, the works of supererogation, etc. To escape the charge of\nforgery they always have their convenient annotation handy, that Paul\nis referring only to the ceremonial and not to the moral law. But Paul\nincludes all laws. He expressly says: \u201cIf there had been a law given.\u201d\n\nThere is no law by which righteousness may be obtained, not a single\none. Why not?\n\n\n  VERSE 22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.\n\nWhere? First in the promises concerning Christ in Genesis 3:15 and in\nGenesis 22:18, which speak of the seed of the woman and the seed\nof Abraham. The fact that these promises were made unto the fathers\nconcerning Christ implies that the fathers were subject to the curse of\nsin and eternal death. Otherwise why the need of promises?\n\nNext, Holy Writ \u201cconcludes\u201d all under sin in this passage from Paul:\n\u201cFor as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.\u201d Again,\nin the passage which the Apostle quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26, \u201cCursed\nis every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the\nbook of the law to do them.\u201d This passage clearly submits all men to the\ncurse, not only those who sin openly against the Law, but also those\nwho sincerely endeavor to perform the Law, inclusive of monks, friars,\nhermits, etc.\n\nThe conclusion is inevitable: Faith alone justified without works. If\nthe Law itself cannot justify, much less can imperfect performance of\nthe Law or the works of the Law, justify.\n\n\n  VERSE 22. That the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to\n  them that believe.\n\nThe Apostle stated before that \u201cthe Scripture hath concluded all under\nsin.\u201d Forever? No, only until the promise should be fulfilled. The\npromise, you will recall, is the inheritance itself or the blessing\npromised to Abraham, deliverance from the Law, sin, death, and the\ndevil, and the free gift of grace, righteousness, salvation, and eternal\nlife. This promise, says Paul, is not obtained by any merit, by any law,\nor by any work. This promise is given. To whom? To those who believe. In\nwhom? In Jesus Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 23. But before faith came.\n\nThe Apostle proceeds to explain the service which the Law is to render.\nPreviously Paul had said that the Law was given to reveal the wrath and\ndeath of God upon all sinners. Although the Law kills, God brings good\nout of evil. He uses the Law to bring life. God saw that the universal\nillusion of self-righteousness could not be put down in any other way\nbut by the Law. The Law dispels all self-illusions. It puts the fear of\nGod in a man. Without this fear there can be no thirst for God\u2019s mercy.\nGod accordingly uses the Law for a hammer to break up the illusion\nof self-righteousness, that we should despair of our own strength and\nefforts at self-justification.\n\n\n  VERSE 23. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up\n  unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.\n\nThe Law is a prison to those who have not as yet obtained grace. No\nprisoner enjoys the confinement. He hates it. If he could he would smash\nthe prison and find his freedom at all cost. As long as he stays in\nprison he refrains from evil deeds. Not because he wants to, but because\nhe has to. The bars and the chains restrain him. He does not regret the\ncrime that put him in jail. On the contrary, he is mighty sore that he\ncannot rob and kill as before. If he could escape he would go right back\nto robbing and killing.\n\nThe Law enforces good behavior, at least outwardly. We obey the Law\nbecause if we don\u2019t we will be punished. Our obedience is inspired by\nfear. We obey under duress and we do it resentfully. Now what kind\nof righteousness is this when we refrain from evil out of fear of\npunishment? Hence, the righteousness of the Law is at bottom nothing but\nlove of sin and hatred of righteousness.\n\nAll the same, the Law accomplishes this much, that it will outwardly at\nleast and to a certain extent repress vice and crime.\n\nBut the Law is also a spiritual prison, a veritable hell. When the Law\nbegins to threaten a person with death and the eternal wrath of God, a\nman just cannot find any comfort at all. He cannot shake off at will the\nnightmare of terror which the Law stirs up in his conscience. Of this\nterror of the Law the Psalms furnish many glimpses.\n\nThe Law is a civil and a spiritual prison. And such it should be. For\nthat the Law is intended. Only the confinement in the prison of the Law\nmust not be unduly prolonged. It must come to an end. The freedom of\nfaith must succeed the imprisonment of the Law.\n\nHappy the person who knows how to utilize the Law so that it serves the\npurposes of grace and of faith. Unbelievers are ignorant of this happy\nknowledge. When Cain was first shut up in the prison of the Law he felt\nno pang at the fratricide he had committed. He thought he could pass\nit off as an incident with a shrug of the shoulder. \u201cAm I my brother\u2019s\nkeeper?\u201d he answered God flippantly. But when he heard the ominous\nwords, \u201cWhat hast thou done? the voice of thy brother\u2019s blood crieth\nunto me from the ground,\u201d Cain began to feel his imprisonment. Did he\nknow how to get out of prison? No. He failed to call the Gospel to his\naid. He said: \u201cMy punishment is greater than I can bear.\u201d He could only\nthink of the prison. He forgot that he was brought face to face with\nhis crime so that he should hurry to God for mercy and for pardon. Cain\nremained in the prison of the Law and despaired.\n\nAs a stone prison proves a physical handicap, so the spiritual prison\nof the Law proves a chamber of torture. But this it should only be until\nfaith be revealed. The silly conscience must be educated to this. Talk\nto your conscience. Say: \u201cSister, you are now in jail all right. But\nyou don\u2019t have to stay there forever. It is written that we are \u2018shut up\nunto faith which should afterwards be revealed.\u2019 Christ will lead you to\nfreedom. Do not despair like Cain, Saul, or Judas. They might have gone\nfree if they had called Christ to their aid. Just take it easy, Sister\nConscience. It\u2019s good for you to be locked up for a while. It will teach\nyou to appreciate Christ.\u201d\n\nHow anybody can say that he by nature loves the Law is beyond me. The\nLaw is a prison to be feared and hated. Any unconverted person who says\nhe loves the Law is a liar. He does not know what he is talking about.\nWe love the Law about as well as a murderer loves his gloomy cell, his\nstraight-jacket, and the iron bars in front of him. How then can the Law\njustify us?\n\n\n  VERSE 23. Shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.\n\nWe know that Paul has reference to the time of Christ\u2019s coming. It was\nthen that faith and the object of faith were fully revealed. But we\nmay apply the historical fact to our inner life. When Christ came\nHe abolished the Law and brought liberty and life to light. This He\ncontinues to do in the hearts of the believers. The Christian has a body\nin whose members, as Paul says, sin dwells and wars. I take sin to\nmean not only the deed but root, tree, fruit, and all. A Christian may\nperhaps not fall into the gross sins of murder, adultery, theft, but he\nis not free from impatience, complaints, hatreds, and blasphemy of God.\nAs carnal lust is strong in a young man, in a man of full age the desire\nfor glory, and in an old man covetousness, so impatience, doubt,\nand hatred of God often prevail in the hearts of sincere Christians.\nExamples of these sins may be garnered from the Psalms, Job, Jeremiah,\nand all the Sacred Scriptures.\n\nAccordingly each Christian continues to experience in his heart times of\nthe Law and times of the Gospel. The times of the Law are discernible by\nheaviness of heart, by a lively sense of sin, and a feeling of despair\nbrought on by the Law. These periods of the Law will come again and\nagain as long as we live. To mention my own case. There are many times\nwhen I find fault with God and am impatient with Him. The wrath and the\njudgment of God displease me, my wrath and impatience displease Him.\nThen is the season of the Law, when \u201cthe flesh lusteth against the\nSpirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.\u201d\n\nThe time of grace returns when the heart is enlivened by the promise of\nGod\u2019s mercy. It soliloquizes: \u201cWhy art thou cast down, O my soul? and\nwhy art thou disquieted within me? Can you see nothing but law, sin,\ndeath, and hell? Is there no grace, no forgiveness, no joy, peace, life,\nheaven, no Christ and God? Trouble me no more, my soul. Hope in God who\nhas not spared His own dear Son but has given Him into death for thy\nsins.\u201d When the Law carries things too far, say: \u201cMister Law, you are\nnot the whole show. There are other and better things than you. They\ntell me to trust in the Lord.\u201d\n\nThere is a time for the Law and a time for grace. Let us study to be\ngood timekeepers. It is not easy. Law and grace may be miles apart in\nessence, but in the heart, they are pretty close together. In the heart\nfear and trust, sin and grace, Law and Gospel cross paths continually.\n\nWhether reason hears that justification before God is obtained by\ngrace alone, it draws the inference that the Law is without value. The\ndoctrine of the Law must therefore be studied carefully lest we either\nreject the Law altogether, or are tempted to attribute to the Law a\ncapacity to save.\n\nThere are three ways in which the Law may be abused. First, by the\nself-righteous hypocrites who fancy that they can be justified by the\nLaw. Secondly, by those who claim that Christian liberty exempts a\nChristian from the observance of the Law. \u201cThese,\u201d says Peter, \u201cuse\ntheir liberty for a cloak of maliciousness,\u201d and bring the name and the\nGospel of Christ into ill repute. Thirdly, the Law is abused by those\nwho do not understand that the Law is meant to drive us to Christ. When\nthe Law is properly used its value cannot be too highly appraised. It\nwill take me to Christ every time.\n\n\n  VERSE 24. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto\n  Christ.\n\nThis simile of the schoolmaster is striking. Schoolmasters are\nindispensable. But show me a pupil who loves his schoolmaster. How\nlittle love is lost upon them the Jews showed by their attitude toward\nMoses. They would have been glad to stone Moses to death. (Ex. 17:4.)\nYou cannot expect anything else. How can a pupil love a teacher who\nfrustrates his desires? And if the pupil disobeys, the schoolmaster\nwhips him, and the pupil has to like it and even kiss the rod with which\nhe was beaten. Do you think the schoolboy feels good about it? As soon\nas the teacher turns his back, the pupil breaks the rod and throws it\ninto the fire. And if he were stronger than the teacher he would not\ntake the beatings, but beat up the teacher. All the same, teachers are\nindispensable, otherwise the children would grow up without discipline,\ninstruction, and training.\n\nBut how long are the scolding and the whippings of the schoolmaster to\ncontinue? Only for a time, until the boy has been trained to be a worthy\nheir of his father. No father wants his son to be whipped all the time.\nThe discipline is to last until the boy has been trained to be his\nfather\u2019s worthy successor.\n\nThe Law is such a schoolmaster. Not for always, but until we have been\nbrought to Christ. The Law is not just another schoolmaster. The Law\nis a specialist to bring us to Christ. What would you think of a\nschoolmaster who could only torment and beat a child? Yet of such\nschoolmasters there were plenty in former times, regular bruisers. The\nLaw is not that kind of a schoolmaster. It is not to torment us always.\nWith its lashings it is only too anxious to drive us to Christ. The Law\nis like the good schoolmaster who trains his children to find pleasure\nin doing things they formerly detested.\n\n\n  VERSE 24. That we might be justified by faith.\n\nThe Law is not to teach us another Law. When a person feels the full\nforce of the Law he is likely to think: I have transgressed all the\ncommandments of God; I am guilty of eternal death. If God will spare\nme I will change and live right from now on. This natural but entirely\nwrong reaction to the Law has bred the many ceremonies and works devised\nto earn grace and remission of sins.\n\nThe Law means to enlarge my sins, to make me small, so that I may\nbe justified by faith in Christ. Faith is neither law nor word; but\nconfidence in Christ \u201cwho is the end of the law.\u201d How so is Christ the\nend of the Law? Not in this way that He replaced the old Law with new\nlaws. Nor is Christ the end of the Law in a way that makes Him a hard\njudge who has to be bribed by works as the papists teach. Christ is\nthe end or finish of the Law to all who believe in Him. The Law can no\nlonger accuse or condemn them.\n\nBut what does the Law accomplish for those who have been justified by\nChrist? Paul answers this question next.\n\n\n  VERSE 25. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a\n  schoolmaster.\n\nThe Apostle declares that we are free from the Law. Christ fulfilled the\nLaw for us. We may live in joy and safety under Christ. The trouble\nis, our flesh will not let us believe in Christ with all our heart. The\nfault lies not with Christ, but with us. Sin clings to us as long as we\nlive and spoils our happiness in Christ. Hence, we are only partly free\nfrom the Law. \u201cWith the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the\nflesh the law of sin.\u201d (Romans 7:25.)\n\nAs far as the conscience is concerned it may cheerfully ignore the Law.\nBut because sin continues to dwell in the flesh, the Law waits around\nto molest our conscience. More and more, however, Christ increases our\nfaith and in the measure in which our faith is increased, sin, Law, and\nflesh subside.\n\nIf anybody objects to the Gospel and the sacraments on the ground that\nChrist has taken away our sins once and for always, you will know what\nto answer. You will answer: Indeed, Christ has taken away my sins. But\nmy flesh, the world, and the devil interfere with my faith. The little\nlight of faith in my heart does not shine all over me at once. It is a\ngradual diffusion. In the meanwhile I console myself with the thought\nthat eventually my flesh will be made perfect in the resurrection.\n\n\n  VERSE 26. For we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.\n\nPaul as a true apostle of faith always has the word \u201cfaith\u201d on the tip\nof his tongue. By faith, says he, we are the children of God. The Law\ncannot beget children of God. It cannot regenerate us. It can only\nremind us of the old birth by which we were born into the kingdom of the\ndevil. The best the Law can do for us is to prepare us for a new birth\nthrough faith in Christ Jesus. Faith in Christ regenerates us into the\nchildren of God. St. John bears witness to this in his Gospel: \u201cAs many\nas received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even\nto them that believe on his name.\u201d (John 1:12.) What tongue of man or\nangel can adequately extol the mercy of God toward us miserable sinners\nin that He adopted us for His own children and fellow-heirs with His Son\nby the simple means of faith in Christ Jesus!\n\n\n  VERSE 27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have\n  put on Christ.\n\nTo \u201cput on Christ\u201d may be understood in two ways, according to the Law\nand according to the Gospel. According to the Law as in Romans 13:14,\n\u201cPut ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d which means to follow the example of\nChrist.\n\nTo put on Christ according to the Gospel means to clothe oneself with\nthe righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and Spirit of Christ. By nature\nwe are clad in the garb of Adam. This garb Paul likes to call \u201cthe old\nman.\u201d Before we can become the children of God this old man must be put\noff, as Paul says, Ephesians 4:29. The garment of Adam must come off\nlike soiled clothes. Of course, it is not as simple as changing one\u2019s\nclothes. But God makes it simple. He clothes us with the righteousness\nof Christ by means of Baptism, as the Apostle says in this verse: \u201cAs\nmany of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.\u201d\nWith this change of garments a new birth, a new life stirs in us. New\naffections toward God spring up in the heart. New determinations affect\nour will. All this is to put on Christ according to the Gospel. Needless\nto say, when we have put on the robe of the righteousness of Christ we\nmust not forget to put on also the mantle of the imitation of Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor\n  free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ\n  Jesus.\nThe list might be extended indefinitely: There is neither preacher nor\nhearer, neither teacher nor scholar, neither master nor servant, etc. In\nthe matter of salvation, rank, learning, righteousness, influence count\nfor nothing.\n\nWith this statement Paul deals a death blow to the Law. When a person\nhas put on Christ nothing else matters. Whether a person is a Jew, a\npunctilious and circumcised observer of the Law of Moses, or whether\na person is a noble and wise Greek does not matter. Circumstances,\npersonal worth, character, achievements have no bearing upon\njustification. Before God they count for nothing. What counts is that we\nput on Christ.\n\nWhether a servant performs his duties well; whether those who are in\nauthority govern wisely; whether a man marries, provides for his family,\nand is an honest citizen; whether a woman is chaste, obedient to her\nhusband, and a good mother: all these advantages do not qualify a person\nfor salvation. These virtues are commendable, of course; but they do\nnot count points for justification. All the best laws, ceremonies,\nreligions, and deeds of the world cannot take away sin guilt, cannot\ndispatch death, cannot purchase life.\n\nThere is much disparity among men in the world, but there is no such\ndisparity before God. \u201cFor all have sinned, and come short of the glory\nof God.\u201d (Romans 3:23.) Let the Jews, let the Greeks, let the whole\nworld keep silent in the presence of God. Those who are justified are\njustified by Christ. Without faith in Christ the Jew with his laws, the\nmonk with his holy orders, the Greek with his wisdom, the servant with\nhis obedience, shall perish forever.\n\n\n  VERSE 28. For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.\n\nThere is much imparity among men in the world. And it is a good thing.\nIf the woman would change places with the man, if the son would change\nplaces with the father, the servant with the master, nothing but\nconfusion would result. In Christ, however, all are equal. We all have\none and the same Gospel, \u201cone faith, one baptism, one God and Father of\nall,\u201d one Christ and Savior of all. The Christ of Peter, Paul, and all\nthe saints is our Christ. Paul can always be depended on to add the\nconditional clause, \u201cIn Christ Jesus.\u201d If we lose sight of Christ, we\nlose out.\n\n\n  VERSE 29. And if ye be Christ\u2019s, then are ye Abraham\u2019s seed, and heirs\n  according to the promise.\n\n\u201cIf ye be Christ\u2019s\u201d means, if you believe in Christ. If you believe in\nChrist, then are you the children of Abraham indeed. Through our faith\nin Christ Abraham gains paternity over us and over the nations of the\nearth according to the promise: \u201cIn thy seed shall all the nations of\nthe earth be blessed.\u201d Through faith we belong to Christ and Christ to\nus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 4\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth\n  nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of all;\n\n  VERSE 2. But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed\n  of the father.\n\nTHE Apostle had apparently finished his discourse on justification when\nthis illustration of the youthful heir occurred to him. He throws it in\nfor good measure. He knows that plain people are sooner impressed by an\napt illustration than by learned discussion.\n\n\u201cI want to give you another illustration from everyday life,\u201d he writes\nto the Galatians. \u201cAs long as an heir is under age he is treated very\nmuch like a servant. He is not permitted to order his own affairs. He\nis kept under constant surveillance. Such discipline is good for him,\notherwise he would waste his inheritance in no time. This discipline,\nhowever, is not to last forever. It is to last only until \u2018the time\nappointed of the father.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 3. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage\n  under the elements of the world.\n\nAs children of the Law we were treated like servants and prisoners. We\nwere oppressed and condemned by the Law. But the tyranny of the Law is\nnot to last forever. It is to last only until \u201cthe time appointed of the\nfather,\u201d until Christ came and redeemed us.\n\n\n  VERSE 3. Under the elements of the world.\n\nBy the elements of the world the Apostle does not understand the\nphysical elements, as some have thought. In calling the Law \u201cthe\nelements of the world\u201d Paul means to say that the Law is something\nmaterial, mundane, earthly. It may restrain evil, but it does not\ndeliver from sin. The Law does not justify; it does not bring a person\nto heaven. I do not obtain eternal life because I do not kill, commit\nadultery, steal, etc. Such mere outward decency does not constitute\nChristianity. The heathen observe the same restraints to avoid\npunishment or to secure the advantages of a good reputation. In the last\nanalysis such restraint is simple hypocrisy. When the Law exercises\nits higher function it accuses and condemns the conscience. All these\neffects of the Law cannot be called divine or heavenly. These effects\nare elements of the world.\n\nIn calling the Law the elements of the world Paul refers to the whole\nLaw, principally to the ceremonial law which dealt with external\nmatters, as meat, drink, dress, places, times, feasts, cleansings,\nsacrifices, etc. These are mundane matters which cannot save the sinner.\nCeremonial laws are like the statutes of governments dealing with purely\ncivil matters, as commerce, inheritance, etc. As for the pope\u2019s church\nlaws forbidding marriage and meats, Paul calls them elsewhere the\ndoctrines of devils. You would not call such laws elements of heaven.\n\nThe Law of Moses deals with mundane matters. It holds the mirror to\nthe evil which is in the world. By revealing the evil that is in us it\ncreates a longing in the heart for the better things of God. The Law\nforces us into the arms of Christ, \u201cwho is the end of the law for\nrighteousness to every one that believeth.\u201d (Romans 1:4.) Christ\nrelieves the conscience of the Law. In so far as the Law impels us to\nChrist it renders excellent service.\n\nI do not mean to give the impression that the Law should be despised.\nNeither does Paul intend to leave that impression. The Law ought to be\nhonored. But when it is a matter of justification before God, Paul had\nto speak disparagingly of the Law, because the Law has nothing to\ndo with justification. If it thrusts its nose into the business of\njustification we must talk harshly to the Law to keep it in its place.\nThe conscience ought not to be on speaking terms with the Law. The\nconscience ought to know only Christ. To say this is easy, but in times\nof trial, when the conscience writhes in the presence of God, it is not\nso easy to do. As such times we are to believe in Christ as if there\nwere no Law or sin anywhere, but only Christ. We ought to say to the\nLaw: \u201cMister Law, I do not get you. You stutter so much. I don\u2019t think\nthat you have anything to say to me.\u201d\n\nWhen it is not a question of salvation or justification with us, we are\nto think highly of the Law and call it \u201choly, just, and good.\u201d (Romans\n7:12) The Law is of no comfort to a stricken conscience. Therefore it\nshould not be allowed to rule in our conscience, particularly in view\nof the fact that Christ paid so great a price to deliver the conscience\nfrom the tyranny of the Law. Let us understand that the Law and Christ\nare impossible bedfellows. The Law must leave the bed of the conscience,\nwhich is so narrow that it cannot hold two, as Isaiah says, chapter 28,\nverse 20.\n\nOnly Paul among the apostles calls the Law \u201cthe elements of the world,\nweak and beggarly elements, the strength of sin, the letter that\nkilleth,\u201d etc. The other apostles do not speak so slightingly of the\nLaw. Those who want to be first-class scholars in the school of Christ\nwant to pick up the language of Paul. Christ called him a chosen vessel\nand equipped with a facility of expression far above that of the other\napostles, that he as the chosen vessel should establish the doctrine of\njustification in clear-cut words.\n\n\n  VERSES 4, 5. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent\n  forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them\n  that were under the law.\n\n\u201cThe fullness of the time\u201d means when the time of the Law was fulfilled\nand Christ was revealed. Note how Paul explains Christ. \u201cChrist,\u201d says\nhe, \u201cis the Son of God and the son of a woman. He submitted Himself\nunder the Law to redeem us who were under the Law.\u201d In these words the\nApostle explains the person and office of Christ. His person is divine\nand human. \u201cGod sent forth His Son, made of a woman.\u201d Christ therefore\nis true God and true man. Christ\u2019s office the Apostle describes in the\nwords: \u201cMade under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.\u201d\n\nPaul calls the Virgin Mary a woman. This has been frequently deplored\neven by some of the ancient fathers who felt that Paul should have\nwritten \u201cvirgin\u201d instead of woman. But Paul is now treating of faith and\nChristian righteousness, of the person and office of Christ, not of\nthe virginity of Mary. The inestimable mercy of God is sufficiently set\nforth by the fact that His Son was born of a woman. The more general\nterm \u201cwoman\u201d indicates that Christ was born a true man. Paul does not\nsay that Christ was born of man and woman, but only of woman. That he\nhas a virgin in mind is obvious.\n\nThis passage furthermore declares that Christ\u2019s purpose in coming was\nthe abolition of the Law, not with the intention of laying down new\nlaws, but \u201cto redeem them that were under the law.\u201d Christ himself\ndeclared: \u201cI judge no man.\u201d (John 8:15.) Again, \u201cI came not to judge the\nworld, but to save the world.\u201d (John 12:47.) In other words: \u201cI came\nnot to bring more laws, or to judge men according to the existing Law. I\nhave a higher and better office. I came to judge and to condemn the Law,\nso that it may no more judge and condemn the world.\u201d\n\nHow did Christ manage to redeem us? \u201cHe was made under the law.\u201d When\nChrist came He found us all in prison. What did He do about it? Although\nHe was the Lord of the Law, He voluntarily placed Himself under the Law\nand permitted it to exercise dominion over Him, indeed to accuse and to\ncondemn Him. When the Law takes us into judgment it has a perfect right\nto do so. \u201cFor we are by nature the children of wrath, even as others.\u201d\n(Eph. 2:3.) Christ, however, \u201cdid no sin, neither was guile found in his\nmouth.\u201d (I Pet. 2:22.) Hence the Law had no jurisdiction over Him. Yet\nthe Law treated this innocent, just, and blessed Lamb of God as cruelly\nas it treated us. It accused Him of blasphemy and treason. It made Him\nguilty of the sins of the whole world. It overwhelmed him with such\nanguish of soul that His sweat was as blood. The Law condemned Him to\nthe shameful death on the Cross.\n\nIt is truly amazing that the Law had the effrontery to turn upon its\ndivine Author, and that without a show of right. For its insolence the\nLaw in turn was arraigned before the judgment seat of God and condemned.\nChrist might have overcome the Law by an exercise of His omnipotent\nauthority over the Law. Instead, He humbled Himself under the Law for\nand together with them that were under the Law. He gave the Law license\nto accuse and condemn Him. His present mastery over the Law was obtained\nby virtue of His Sonship and His substitutionary victory.\n\nThus Christ banished the Law from the conscience. It dare no longer\nbanish us from God. For that matter,--the Law continues to reveal sin.\nIt still raises its voice in condemnation. But the conscience finds\nquick relief in the words of the Apostle: \u201cChrist has redeemed us from\nthe law.\u201d The conscience can now hold its head high and say to the Law:\n\u201cYou are not so holy yourself. You crucified the Son of God. That was an\nawful thing for you to do. You have lost your influence forever.\u201d\n\nThe words, \u201cChrist was made under the law,\u201d are worth all the attention\nwe can bestow on them. They declare that the Son of God did not only\nfulfill one or two easy requirements of the Law, but that He endured\nall the tortures of the Law. The Law brought all its fright to bear upon\nChrist until He experienced anguish and terror such as nobody else\never experienced. His bloody sweat. His need of angelic comfort, His\ntremulous prayer in the garden, His lamentation on the Cross, \u201cMy God,\nmy God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d bear eloquent witness to the sting\nof the Law. He suffered \u201cto redeem them that were under the law.\u201d\n\nThe Roman conception of Christ as a mere lawgiver more stringent than\nMoses, is quite contrary to Paul\u2019s teaching. Christ, according to Paul,\nwas not an agent of the Law but a patient of the Law. He was not a\nlaw-giver, but a law-taker.\n\nTrue enough, Christ also taught and expounded the Law. But it was\nincidental. It was a sideline with Him. He did not come into the world\nfor the purpose of teaching the Law, as little as it was the purpose of\nHis coming to perform miracles. Teaching the Law and performing miracles\ndid not constitute His unique mission to the world. The prophets also\ntaught the Law and performed miracles. In fact, according to the promise\nof Christ, the apostles performed greater miracles than Christ Himself.\n(John 14:12.) The true purpose of Christ\u2019s coming was the abolition of\nthe Law, of sin, and of death.\n\nIf we think of Christ as Paul here depicts Him, we shall never go wrong.\nWe shall never be in danger of misconstruing the meaning of the Law. We\nshall understand that the Law does not justify. We shall understand why\na Christian observes laws: For the peace of the world, out of gratitude\nto God, and for a good example that others may be attracted to the\nGospel.\n\n\n  VERSE 5. That we might receive the adoption of sons.\n\nPaul still has for his text Genesis 22:18, \u201cIn thy seed shall all the\nnations of the earth be blessed.\u201d In the course of his Epistle he calls\nthis promise of the blessing righteousness, life, deliverance from the\nLaw, the testament, etc. Now he also calls the promise of blessing \u201cthe\nadoption of sons,\u201d the inheritance of everlasting life.\n\nWhat ever induced God to adopt us for His children and heirs? What claim\ncan men who are subservient to sin, subject to the curse of the Law,\nand worthy of everlasting death, have on God and eternal life? That\nGod adopted us is due to the merit of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who\nhumbled Himself under the Law and redeemed us law-ridden sinners.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his\n  Son into your hearts.\n\nIn the early Church the Holy Spirit was sent forth in visible form. He\ndescended upon Christ in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16), and in the\nlikeness of fire upon the apostles and other believers. (Acts 2:3.) This\nvisible outpouring of the Holy Spirit was necessary to the establishment\nof the early Church, as were also the miracles that accompanied the gift\nof the Holy Ghost. Paul explained the purpose of these miraculous gifts\nof the Spirit in I Corinthians 14:22, \u201cTongues are for a sign, not to\nthem that believe, but to them that believe not.\u201d Once the Church had\nbeen established and properly advertised by these miracles, the visible\nappearance of the Holy Ghost ceased.\n\nNext, the Holy Ghost is sent forth into the hearts of the believers,\nas here stated, \u201cGod sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts.\u201d This\nsending is accomplished by the preaching of the Gospel through which the\nHoly Spirit inspires us with fervor and light, with new judgment, new\ndesires, and new motives. This happy innovation is not a derivative of\nreason or personal development, but solely the gift and operation of the\nHoly Ghost.\n\nThis renewal by the Holy Spirit may not be conspicuous to the world, but\nit is patent to us by our better judgment, our improved speech, and our\nunashamed confession of Christ. Formerly we did not confess Christ to\nbe our only merit, as we do now in the light of the Gospel. Why, then,\nshould we feel bad if the world looks upon us as ravagers of religion\nand insurgents against constituted authority? We confess Christ and our\nconscience approves of it. Then, too, we live in the fear of God. If we\nsin, we sin not on purpose, but unwittingly, and we are sorry for it.\nSin sticks in our flesh, and the flesh gets us into sin even after\nwe have been imbued by the Holy Ghost. Outwardly there is no great\ndifference between a Christian and any honest man. The activities of\na Christian are not sensational. He performs his duty according to his\nvocation. He takes good care of his family, and is kind and helpful to\nothers. Such homely, everyday performances are not much admired. But the\nsetting-up exercises of the monks draw great applause. Holy works, you\nknow. Only the acts of a Christian are truly good and acceptable to God,\nbecause they are done in faith, with a cheerful heart, out of gratitude\nto Christ.\n\nWe ought to have no misgivings about whether the Holy Ghost dwells in\nus. We are \u201cthe temple of the Holy Ghost.\u201d (I Cor. 3:16.) When we have\na love for the Word of God, and gladly hear, talk, write, and think of\nChrist, we are to know that this inclination toward Christ is the gift\nand work of the Holy Ghost. Where you come across contempt for the Word\nof God, there is the devil. We meet with such contempt for the Word of\nGod mostly among the common people. They act as though the Word of God\ndoes not concern them. Wherever you find a love for the Word, thank God\nfor the Holy Spirit who infuses this love into the hearts of men. We\nnever come by this love naturally, neither can it be enforced by laws.\nIt is the gift of the Holy Spirit.\n\nThe Roman theologians teach that no man can know for a certainty whether\nhe stands in the favor of God or not. This teaching forms one of the\nchief articles of their faith. With this teaching they tormented men\u2019s\nconsciences, excommunicated Christ from the Church, and limited the\noperations of the Holy Ghost.\n\nSt. Augustine observed that \u201cevery man is certain of his faith, if he\nhas faith.\u201d This the Romanists deny. \u201cGod forbid,\u201d they exclaim piously,\n\u201cthat I should ever be so arrogant as to think that I stand in grace,\nthat I am holy, or that I have the Holy Ghost.\u201d We ought to feel sure\nthat we stand in the grace of God, not in view of our own worthiness,\nbut through the good services of Christ. As certain as we are that\nChrist pleases God, so sure ought we to be that we also please God,\nbecause Christ is in us. And although we daily offend God by our sins,\nyet as often as we sin, God\u2019s mercy bends over us. Therefore sin cannot\nget us to doubt the grace of God. Our certainty is of Christ, that\nmighty Hero who overcame the Law, sin, death, and all evils. So long as\nHe sits at the right hand of God to intercede for us, we have nothing to\nfear from the anger of God.\n\nThis inner assurance of the grace of God is accompanied by outward\nindications such as gladly to hear, preach, praise, and to confess\nChrist, to do one\u2019s duty in the station in which God has placed us, to\naid the needy, and to comfort the sorrowing. These are the affidavits of\nthe Holy Spirit testifying to our favorable standing with God.\n\nIf we could be fully persuaded that we are in the good grace of God,\nthat our sins are forgiven, that we have the Spirit of Christ, that we\nare the beloved children of God, we would be ever so happy and grateful\nto God. But because we often feel fear and doubt we cannot come to that\nhappy certainty.\n\nTrain your conscience to believe that God approves of you. Fight it out\nwith doubt. Gain assurance through the Word of God. Say: \u201cI am all right\nwith God. I have the Holy Ghost. Christ, in whom I do believe, makes\nme worthy. I gladly hear, read, sing, and write of Him. I would like\nnothing better than that Christ\u2019s Gospel be known throughout the world\nand that many, many be brought to faith in Him.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 6. Crying, Abba, Father.\n\nPaul might have written, \u201cGod sent forth the Spirit of his Son into\nyour hearts, calling Abba, Father.\u201d Instead, he wrote, \u201cCrying, Abba,\nFather.\u201d In the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans the Apostle\ndescribes this crying of the Spirit as \u201cgroanings which cannot be\nuttered.\u201d He writes in the 26th verse: \u201cLikewise the Spirit also helpeth\nour infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:\nbut the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which\ncannot be uttered.\u201d\n\nThe fact that the Spirit of Christ in our hearts cries unto God and\nmakes intercession for us with groanings should reassure us greatly.\nHowever, there are many factors that prevent such full reassurance on\nour part. We are born in sin. To doubt the good will of God is an inborn\nsuspicion of God with all of us. Besides, the devil, our adversary,\ngoeth about seeking to devour us by roaring: \u201cGod is angry at you and\nis going to destroy you forever.\u201d In all these difficulties we have only\none support, the Gospel of Christ. To hold on to it, that is the trick.\nChrist cannot be perceived with the senses. We cannot see Him. The heart\ndoes not feel His helpful presence. Especially in times of trials\na Christian feels the power of sin, the infirmity of his flesh, the\ngoading darts of the devil, the agues of death, the scowl and judgment\nof God. All these things cry out against us. The Law scolds us, sin\nscreams at us, death thunders at us, the devil roars at us. In the midst\nof the clamor the Spirit of Christ cries in our hearts: \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d\nAnd this little cry of the Spirit transcends the hullabaloo of the Law,\nsin, death, and the devil, and finds a hearing with God.\n\nThe Spirit cries in us because of our weakness. Because of our infirmity\nthe Holy Ghost is sent forth into our hearts to pray for us according to\nthe will of God and to assure us of the grace of God.\n\nLet the Law, sin, and the devil cry out against us until their outcry\nfills heaven and earth. The Spirit of God outcries them all. Our feeble\ngroans, \u201cAbba, Father,\u201d will be heard of God sooner than the combined\nracket of hell, sin, and the Law.\n\nWe do not think of our groanings as a crying. It is so faint we do not\nknow we are groaning. \u201cBut he,\u201d says Paul, \u201cthat searcheth the hearts\nknoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.\u201d (Romans 8:27.) To this Searcher\nof hearts our feeble groaning, as it seems to us, is a loud shout for\nhelp in comparison with which the howls of hell, the din of the devil,\nthe yells of the Law, the shouts of sin are like so many whispers.\n\nIn the fourteenth chapter of Exodus the Lord addresses Moses at the Red\nSea: \u201cWherefore criest thou unto me?\u201d Moses had not cried unto the Lord.\nHe trembled so he could hardly talk. His faith was at low ebb. He saw\nthe people of Israel wedged between the Sea and the approaching armies\nof Pharaoh. How were they to escape? Moses did not know what to say. How\nthen could God say that Moses was crying to Him? God heard the groaning\nheart of Moses and the groans to Him sounded like loud shouts for help.\nGod is quick to catch the sigh of the heart.\n\nSome have claimed that the saints are without infirmities. But Paul\nsays: \u201cThe Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for\nus with groanings which cannot be uttered.\u201d We need the help of the\nHoly Spirit because we are weak and infirm. And the Holy Spirit never\ndisappoints us. Confronted by the armies of Pharaoh, retreat cut off by\nthe waters of the Red Sea, Moses was in a bad spot. He felt himself to\nblame. The devil accused him: \u201cThese people will all perish, for they\ncannot escape. And you are to blame because you led the people out of\nEgypt. You started all this.\u201d And then the people started in on Moses.\n\u201cBecause there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die\nin the wilderness? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians,\nthan that we should die in the wilderness.\u201d (Ex. 14:11, 12.) But the\nHoly Ghost was in Moses and made intercession for him with unutterable\ngroanings, sighings unto the Lord: \u201cO Lord, at Thy commandment have I\nled forth this people. So help me now.\u201d\n\nThe Spirit intercedes for us not in many words or long prayers, but with\ngroanings, with little sounds like \u201cAbba.\u201d Small as this word is, it\nsays ever so much. It says: \u201cMy Father, I am in great trouble and you\nseem so far away. But I know I am your child, because you are my Father\nfor Christ\u2019s sake. I am loved by you because of the Beloved.\u201d This\none little word \u201cAbba\u201d surpasses the eloquence of a Demosthenes and a\nCicero.\n\nI have spent much time on this verse in order to combat the cruel\nteaching of the Roman church, that a person ought to be kept in a state\nof uncertainty concerning his status with God. The monasteries recruit\nthe youth on the plea that their \u201choly\u201d orders will assuredly recruit\nthem for heaven. But once inside the monastery the recruits are told to\ndoubt the promises of God.\n\nIn support of their error the papists quote the saying of Solomon: \u201cThe\nrighteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no\nman knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.\u201d (Eccles.\n9:1.) They take this hatred to mean the wrath of God to come. Others\ntake it to mean God\u2019s present anger. None of them seem to understand\nthis passage from Solomon. On every page the Scriptures urge us to\nbelieve that God is merciful, loving, and patient; that He is faithful\nand true, and that He keeps His promises. All the promises of God\nwere fulfilled in the gift of His only-begotten Son, that \u201cwhosoever\nbelieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.\u201d The\nGospel is reassurance for sinners. Yet this one saying from Solomon,\nmisinterpreted at that, is made to count for more than all the many\npromises of all the Scriptures.\n\nIf our opponents are so uncertain about their status with God, and even\ngo so far as to say that the conscience ought to be kept in a state of\ndoubt, why is it that they persecute us as vile heretics? When it comes\nto persecuting us they do not seem to be in doubt and uncertainty one\nminute.\n\nLet us not fail to thank God for delivering us from the doctrine of\ndoubt. The Gospel commands us to look away from our own good works to\nthe promises of God in Christ, the Mediator. The pope commands us to\nlook away from the promises of God in Christ to our own merit. No wonder\nthey are the eternal prey of doubt and despair. We depend upon God for\nsalvation. No wonder that our doctrine is certified, because it does not\nrest in our own strength, our own conscience, our own feelings, our own\nperson, our own works. It is built on a better foundation. It is built\non the promises and truth of God.\n\nBesides, the passage from Solomon does not treat of the hatred and love\nof God towards men. It merely rebukes the ingratitude of men. The more\ndeserving a person is, the less he is appreciated. Often those who\nshould be his best friends, are his worst enemies. Those who least\ndeserve the praise of the world, get most. David was a holy man and\na good king. Nevertheless he was chased from his own country. The\nprophets, Christ, the apostles, were slain. Solomon in this passage does\nnot speak of the love and hatred of God, but of love and hatred among\nmen. As though Solomon wanted to say: \u201cThere are many good and wise men\nwhom God uses for the advancement of mankind. Seldom, if ever, are their\nefforts crowned with gratitude. They are usually repaid with hatred and\ningratitude.\u201d\n\nWe are being treated that way. We thought we would find favor with men\nfor bringing them the Gospel of peace, life, and eternal salvation.\nInstead of favor, we found fury. At first, yes, many were delighted with\nour doctrine and received it gladly. We counted them as our friends and\nbrethren, and were happy to think that they would help us in sowing the\nseed of the Gospel. But they revealed themselves as false brethren and\ndeadly enemies of the Gospel. If you experience the ingratitude of\nmen, don\u2019t let it get you down. Say with Christ: \u201cThey hated me without\ncause.\u201d And, \u201cFor my love they are my adversaries; but I give myself\nunto prayer.\u201d (Ps. 109:4.)\n\nLet us never doubt the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, but make up our\nminds that God is pleased with us, that He looks after us, and that we\nhave the Holy Spirit who prays for us.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son.\n\nThis sentence clinches Paul\u2019s argument. He says: \u201cWith the Holy Spirit\nin our hearts crying, \u2018Abba, Father,\u2019 there can be no doubt that God has\nadopted us for His children and that our subjection to the Law has come\nto an end.\u201d We are now the free children of God. We may now say to the\nLaw: \u201cMister Law, you have lost your throne to Christ. I am free now and\na son of God. You cannot curse me any more.\u201d Do not permit the Law to\nlie in your conscience. Your conscience belongs to Christ. Let Christ be\nin it and not the Law.\n\nAs the children of God we are the heirs of His eternal heaven. What\na wonderful gift heaven is, man\u2019s heart cannot conceive, much less\ndescribe. Until we enter upon our heavenly inheritance we are only to\nhave our little faith to go by. To man\u2019s reason our faith looks rather\nforlorn. But because our faith rests on the promises of the infinite\nGod, His promises are also infinite, so much so that nothing can accuse\nor condemn us.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.\n\nA son is an heir, not by virtue of high accomplishments, but by virtue\nof his birth. He is a mere recipient. His birth makes him an heir,\nnot his labors. In exactly the same way we obtain the eternal gifts of\nrighteousness, resurrection, and everlasting life. We obtain them not\nas agents, but as beneficiaries. We are the children and heirs of God\nthrough faith in Christ. We have Christ to thank for everything.\n\nWe are not the heirs of some rich and mighty man, but heirs of God, the\nalmighty Creator of all things. If a person could fully appreciate what\nit means to be a son and heir of God, he would rate the might and wealth\nof nations small change in comparison with his heavenly inheritance.\nWhat is the world to him who has heaven? No wonder Paul greatly desired\nto depart and to be with Christ. Nothing would be more welcome to\nus than early death, knowing that it would spell the end of all our\nmiseries and the beginning of all our happiness. Yes, if a person could\nperfectly believe this he would not long remain alive. The anticipation\nof his joy would kill him.\n\nBut the law of the members strives against the law of the mind, and\nmakes perfect joy and faith impossible. We need the continued help and\ncomfort of the Holy Spirit. We need His prayers. Paul himself cried out:\n\u201cO wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this\ndeath?\u201d The body of this death spoiled the joy of his spirit. He did\nnot always entertain the sweet and glad expectation of his heavenly\ninheritance. He often felt miserable.\n\nThis goes to show how hard it is to believe. Faith is feeble, because\nthe flesh wars against the spirit. If we could have perfect faith, our\nloathing for this life in the world would be complete. We would not be\nso careful about this life. We would not be so attached to the world and\nthe things of the world. We would not feel so good when we have them; we\nwould not feel so bad when we lose them. We would be far more humble and\npatient and kind. But our faith is weak, because our spirit is weak. In\nthis life we can have only the first-fruits of the Spirit, as Paul says.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Through Christ.\n\nThe Apostle always has Christ on the tip of his tongue. He foresaw that\nnothing would be less known in the world some day than the Gospel of\nChrist. Therefore he talks of Christ continually. As often as he speaks\nof righteousness, grace, the promise, the adoption, and the inheritance\nof heaven, he adds the words, \u201cIn Christ,\u201d or \u201cThrough Christ,\u201d to show\nthat these blessings are not to be had by the Law, or the deeds of\nthe Law, much less by our own exertions, or by the observance of human\ntraditions, but only by and through and in Christ.\n\n\n  VERSES 8 and 9. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service\n  unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have\n  known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak\n  and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?\n\nThis concludes Paul\u2019s discourse on justification. From now to the end of\nthe Epistle the Apostle writes mostly of Christian conduct. But before\nhe follows up his doctrinal discourse with practical precepts he once\nmore reproves the Galatians. He is deeply displeased with them for\nrelinquishing their divine doctrine. He tells them: \u201cYou have taken on\nteachers who intend to recommit you to the Law. By my doctrine I called\nyou out of the darkness of ignorance into the wonderful light of the\nknowledge of God. I led you out of bondage into the freedom of the sons\nof God, not by the prescription of laws, but by the gift of heavenly and\neternal blessings through Christ Jesus. How could you so soon forsake\nthe light and return to darkness? How could you so quickly stray from\ngrace into the Law, from freedom into bondage?\u201d\n\nThe example of the Galatians, of Anabaptists, and other sectarians in\nour day bears testimony to the ease with which faith may be lost. We\ntake great pains in setting forth the doctrine of faith by preaching\nand by writing. We are careful to apply the Gospel and the Law in their\nproper turn. Yet we make little headway because the devil seduces people\ninto misbelief by taking Christ out of their sight and focusing their\neyes upon the Law.\n\nBut why does Paul accuse the Galatians of reverting to the weak and\nbeggarly elements of the Law when they never had the Law? Why does he\nnot say to them: \u201cAt one time you Galatians did not know God. You then\nserved idols that were no gods. But now that you have come to know the\ntrue God, why do you go back to the worship of idols?\u201d Paul seems to\nidentify their defection from the Gospel to the Law with their former\nidolatry. Indeed he does. Whoever gives up the article of justification\ndoes not know the true God. It is one and the same thing whether a\nperson reverts to the Law or to the worship of idols. When the article\nof justification is lost, nothing remains except error, hypocrisy,\ngodlessness, and idolatry.\n\nGod will and can be known in no other way than in and through Christ\naccording to the statement of John 1:18, \u201cThe only begotten Son, which\nis in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.\u201d Christ is the only\nmeans whereby we can know God and His will. In Christ we perceive that\nGod is not a cruel judge, but a most loving and merciful Father who to\nbless and to save us \u201cspared not his own Son, but gave him up for us\nall.\u201d This is truly to know God.\n\nThose who do not know God in Christ arrive at this erroneous conclusion:\n\u201cI will serve God in such and such a way. I will join this or that\norder. I will be active in this or that charitable endeavor. God will\nsanction my good intentions and reward me with everlasting life. For is\nHe not a merciful and generous Father who gives good things even to the\nunworthy and ungrateful? How much more will He grant unto me everlasting\nlife as a due payment in return for my many good deeds and merits.\u201d This\nis the religion of reason. This is the natural religion of the world.\n\u201cThe natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.\u201d (I Cor.\n2:14.) \u201cThere is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh\nafter God.\u201d (Romans 3:11.) Hence, there is really no difference between\na Jew, a Mohammedan, and any other old or new heretic. There may be a\ndifference of persons, places, rites, religions, ceremonies, but as far\nas their fundamental beliefs are concerned they are all alike.\n\nIs it therefore not extreme folly for Rome and the Mohammedans to fight\neach other about religion? How about the monks? Why should one monk\nwant to be accounted more holy than another monk because of some silly\nceremony, when all the time their basic beliefs are asnmuch alike as one\negg is like the other? They all imagine, if we do this or that work, God\nwill have mercy on us; if not, God will be angry.\n\nGod never promised to save anybody for his religious observance of\nceremonies and ordinances. Those who rely upon such things do serve a\ngod, but it is their own invention of a god, and not the true God. The\ntrue God has this to say: No religion pleases Me whereby the Father is\nnot glorified through His Son Jesus. All who give their faith to this\nSon of Mine, to them I am God and Father. I accept, justify, and save\nthem. All others abide under My curse because they worship creatures\ninstead of Me.\n\nWithout the doctrine of justification there can be only ignorance of\nGod. Those who refuse to be justified by Christ are idolaters. They\nremain under the Law, sin, death, and the power of the devil. Everything\nthey do is wrong.\n\nNowadays there are many such idolaters who want to be counted among\nthe true confessors of the Gospel. They may even teach that men are\ndelivered from their sins by the death of Christ. But because they\nattach more importance to charity than to faith in Christ they dishonor\nHim and pervert His Word. They do not serve the true God, but an idol of\ntheir own invention. The true God has never yet smiled upon a person for\nhis charity or virtues, but only for the sake of Christ\u2019s merits.\n\nThe objection is frequently raised that the Bible commands that we\nshould love God with all our heart. True enough. But because God\ncommands it, it does not follow that we do it. If we could love God with\nall our heart we should undoubtedly be justified by our obedience, for\nit is written, \u201cWhich if a man do, he shall live in them.\u201d (Lev. 18:5.)\nBut now comes the Gospel and says: \u201cBecause you do not do these things,\nyou cannot live in them.\u201d The words, \u201cThou shalt love the Lord, thy\nGod,\u201d require perfect obedience, perfect fear, perfect trust, and\nperfect love. But where are the people who can render perfection? Hence,\nthis commandment, instead of justifying men, only accuses and condemns\nthem. \u201cChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that\nbelieveth\u201d (Romans 10:1.)\n\nHow may these two contradictory statements of the Apostle, \u201cYe knew not\nGod,\u201d and \u201cYe worshipped God,\u201d be reconciled? I answer: By nature all\nmen know that there is a God, \u201cbecause that which may be known of God\nis manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible\nthings of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.\u201d (Romans\n1:19, 20.) Furthermore, the different religions to be found among\nall nations at all times bear witness to the fact that all men have a\ncertain intuitive knowledge of God.\n\nIf all men know God how can Paul say that the Galatians did not know\nGod prior to the hearing of the Gospel? I answer: There is a twofold\nknowledge of God, general and particular. All men have the general\nand instinctive recognition that there is a God who created heaven and\nearth, who is just and holy, and who punishes the wicked. How God feels\nabout us, what His intentions are, what He will do for us, or how He\nwill save us, that men cannot know instinctively. It must be revealed to\nthem. I may know a person by sight, and still not know him, because I do\nnot know how he feels about me. Men know instinctively that there is a\nGod. But what His will is toward them, they do not know. It is written:\n\u201cThere is none that understandeth God.\u201d (Romans 3:11.) Again, \u201cNo man\nhath seen God.\u201d (John 1:18.) Now, what good does it do you if you know\nthat there is a God, if you do not know how He feels about you, or\nwhat He wants of you? People have done a good deal of guessing. The Jew\nimagines he is doing the will of God if he concentrates on the Law of\nMoses. The Mohammedan thinks his Koran is the will of God. The monk\nfancies he is doing the will of God if he performs his vows. But they\ndeceive themselves and become \u201cvain in their imaginations,\u201d as Paul\nsays, Romans 1:21. Instead of worshipping the true God, they worship the\nvain imaginations of their foolish hearts.\n\nWhat Paul means by saying to the Galatians, \u201cWhen ye knew not God,\u201d is\nsimply this: \u201cThere was a time when you did not know the will of God in\nChrist, but you worshipped gods of your own invention, thinking that you\nhad to perform this or that labor.\u201d Whether you understand the \u201celements\nof the world\u201d to mean the Law of Moses, or the religions of the heathen\nnations, it makes no difference. Those who lapse from the Gospel to the\nLaw are no better off than those who lapse from grace into idolatry.\nWithout Christ all religion is idolatry. Without Christ men will\nentertain false ideas about God, call their ideas what you like, the\nlaws of Moses, the ordinances of the Pope, the Koran of the Mohammedans,\nor what have you.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. But now, after that ye have known God.\n\n\u201cIs it not amazing,\u201d cries Paul, \u201cthat you Galatians who knew God\nintimately by the hearing of the Gospel, should all of a sudden\nrevert from the true knowledge of His will in which I thought you were\nconfirmed, to the weak and beggarly elements of the Law which can only\nenslave you again?\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 9. Or rather are known of God.\n\nThe Apostle turns the foregoing sentence around. He fears the Galatians\nhave lost God altogether. \u201cAlas,\u201d he cries, \u201chave you come to this, that\nyou no longer know God? What else am I to think? Nevertheless, God knows\nyou.\u201d Our knowledge of God is rather passive than active. God knows us\nbetter than we know God. \u201cYe are known of God\u201d means that God brings His\nGospel to our attention, and endows us with faith and the Holy Spirit.\nEven in these words the Apostle denies the possibility of our knowing\nGod by the performance of the Law. \u201cNo man knoweth who the Father is,\nbut the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.\u201d (Luke 10:22.) \u201cBy\nhis knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear\ntheir iniquities.\u201d (Isaiah 53:11.)\n\nThe Apostle frankly expresses his surprise to the Galatians that they\nwho had known God intimately through the Gospel, should so easily be\npersuaded by the false apostles to return to the weak and beggarly\nelements of the Law. I would not be surprised to see my church perverted\nby some fanatic through one or two sermons. We are no better than the\napostles who had to witness the subversion of the churches which they\nhad planted with their own hands. Nevertheless, Christ will reign to the\nend of the world, and that miraculously, as He did during the Dark Ages.\n\nPaul seems to think rather ill of the Law. He calls it the elements\nof the world, the weak and beggarly elements of the world. Was it not\nirreverent for him to speak that way about the holy Law of God? The Law\nought to prepare the way of Christ into the hearts of men. That is the\ntrue purpose and function of the Law. But if the Law presumes to usurp\nthe place and function of the Gospel, it is no longer the holy Law of\nGod, but a pseudo-Gospel.\n\nIf you care to amplify this matter you may add the observation that\nthe Law is a weak and beggarly element because it makes people weak and\nbeggarly. The Law has no power and affluence to make men strong and rich\nbefore God. To seek to be justified by the Law amounts to the same\nthing as if a person who is already weak and feeble should try to find\nstrength in weakness, or as if a person with the dropsy should seek a\ncure by exposing himself to the pestilence, or as if a leper should go\nto a leper, and a beggar to a beggar to find health and wealth.\n\nThose who seek to be justified by the Law grow weaker and more destitute\nright along. They are weak and bankrupt to begin with. They are by\nnature the children of wrath. Yet for salvation they grasp at the straw\nof the Law. The Law can only aggravate their weakness and poverty. The\nLaw makes them ten times weaker and poorer than they were before.\n\nI and many others have experienced the truth of this. I have known monks\nwho zealously labored to please God for salvation, but the more they\nlabored the more impatient, miserable, uncertain, and fearful they\nbecame. What else can you expect? You cannot grow strong through\nweakness and rich through poverty. People who prefer the Law to the\nGospel are like Aesop\u2019s dog who let go of the meat to snatch at\nthe shadow of the water. There is no satisfaction in the Law. What\nsatisfaction can there be in collecting laws with which to torment\noneself and others? One law breeds ten more until their number is\nlegion.\n\nWho would have thought it possible that the Galatians, taught as they\nwere by that efficient apostle and teacher, Paul, could so quickly be\nled astray by the false apostles? To fall away from the Gospel is an\neasy matter because few people appreciate what an excellent treasure the\nknowledge of Christ really is. People are not sufficiently exercised in\ntheir faith by afflictions. They do not wrestle against sin. They live\nin security without conflict. Because they have never been tried in the\nfurnace of affliction they are not properly equipped with the armor of\nGod and know not how to use the sword of the Spirit. As long as they\nare being shepherded by faithful pastors, all is well. But when their\nfaithful shepherds are gone and wolves disguised as sheep break into the\nfold, back they go to the weak and beggarly elements of the Law.\n\nWhoever goes back to the Law loses the knowledge of the truth, fails in\nthe recognition of his sinfulness, does not know God, nor the devil,\nnor himself, and does not understand the meaning and purpose of the Law.\nWithout the knowledge of Christ a man will always argue that the Law is\nnecessary for salvation, that it will strengthen the weak and enrich the\npoor. Wherever this opinion holds sway the promises of God are denied,\nChrist is demoted, hypocrisy and idolatry are established.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. Whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage.\n\nThe Apostle pointedly asks the Galatians whether they desire to be in\nbondage again to the Law. The Law is weak and poor, the sinner is weak\nand poor--two feeble beggars trying to help each other. They cannot do\nit. They only wear each other out. But through Christ a weak and poor\nsinner is revived and enriched unto eternal life.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.\n\nThe Apostle Paul knew what the false apostles were teaching the\nGalatians: The observance of days, and months, and times, and years. The\nJews had been obliged to keep holy the Sabbath Day, the new moons, the\nfeast of the passover, the feast of tabernacles, and other feasts. The\nfalse apostles constrained the Galatians to observe these Jewish feasts\nunder threat of damnation. Paul hastens to tell the Galatians that\nthey were exchanging their Christian liberty for the weak and beggarly\nelements of the world.\n\n\n  VERSE 11. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in\n  vain.\n\nIt grieves the Apostle to think that he might have preached the Gospel\nto the Galatians in vain. But this statement expresses more than grief.\nBehind his apparent disappointment at their failure lurks the sharp\nreprimand that they had forsaken Christ and that they were proving\nthemselves to be obstinate unbelievers. But he does not openly condemn\nthem for fear that oversharp criticism might alienate them altogether.\nHe therefore changes the tone of his voice and speaks kindly to them.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. Be as I am; for I am as ye are.\n\nUp to this point Paul has been occupied with the doctrinal aspect of\nthe apostasy of the Galatians. He did not conceal his disappointment at\ntheir lack of stability. He had rebuked them. He had called them fools,\ncrucifiers of Christ, etc. Now that the more important part of his\nEpistle has been finished, he realizes that he has handled the Galatians\ntoo roughly. Anxious lest he should do more harm than good, he is\ncareful to let them see that his criticism proceeds from affection and\na true apostolic concern for their welfare. He is eager to mitigate his\nsharp words with gentle sentiments in order to win them again.\n\nLike Paul, all pastors and ministers ought to have much sympathy for\ntheir poor straying sheep, and instruct them in the spirit of meekness.\nThey cannot be straightened out in any other way. Oversharp criticism\nprovokes anger and despair, but no repentance. And here let us note, by\nthe way, that true doctrine always produces concord. When men embrace\nerrors, the tie of Christian love is broken.\n\nAt the beginning of the Reformation we were honored as the true\nministers of Christ. Suddenly certain false brethren began to hate us.\nWe had given them no offense, no occasion to hate us. They knew then as\nthey know now that ours is the singular desire to publish the Gospel\nof Christ everywhere. What changed their attitude toward us? False\ndoctrine. Seduced into error by the false apostles, the Galatians\nrefused to acknowledge St. Paul as their pastor. The name and doctrine\nof Paul became obnoxious to them. I fear this Epistle recalled very few\nfrom their error.\n\nPaul knew that the false apostles would misconstrue his censure of the\nGalatians to their own advantage and say: \u201cSo this is your Paul whom you\npraise so much. What sweet names he is calling you in his letter.\nWhen he was with you he acted like a father, but now he acts like a\ndictator.\u201d Paul knew what to expect of the false apostles and therefore\nhe is worried. He does not know what to say. It is hard for a man to\ndefend his cause at a distance, especially when he has reason to think\nthat he personally has fallen into disfavor.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. Be as I am; for I am as ye are.\n\nIn beseeching the Galatians to be as he is, Paul expresses the hope\nthat they might hold the same affection for him that he holds for them.\n\u201cPerhaps I have been a little hard with you. Forgive it. Do not judge my\nheart according to my words.\u201d\n\nWe request the same consideration for ourselves. Our way of writing is\nincisive and straightforward. But there is no bitterness in our heart.\nWe seek the honor of Christ and the welfare of men. We do not hate\nthe Pope as to wish him ill. We do not desire the death of our false\nbrethren. We desire that they may turn from their evil ways to Christ\nand be saved with us. A teacher chastises the pupil to reform him.\nThe rod hurts, but correction is necessary. A father punishes his son\nbecause he loves his son. If he did not love the lad he would not punish\nhim but let him have his own way in everything until he comes to harm.\nPaul beseeches the Galatians to look upon his correction as a sign that\nhe really cared for them. \u201cNow no chastening for the present seemeth\nto be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the\npeaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.\u201d\n(Heb. 12:11.)\n\nAlthough Paul seeks to soften the effect of his reproachful words, he\ndoes not take them back. When a physician administers a bitter potion to\na patient, he does it to cure the patient. The fact that the medicine\nis bitter is no fault of the physician. The malady calls for a bitter\nmedicine. Paul wants the Galatians to judge his words according to the\nsituation that made them necessary.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. Brethren, I beseech you...Ye have not injured me at all.\n\nWould you call it beseeching the Galatians to call them \u201cbewitched,\u201d\n\u201cdisobedient,\u201d \u201ccrucifiers of Christ\u201d? The Apostle calls it an earnest\nbeseeching. And so it is. When a father corrects his son it means as if\nhe were saying, \u201cMy son, I beseech you, be a good boy.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 12. Ye have not injured me at all.\n\n\u201cI am not angry with you,\u201d says Paul. \u201cWhy should I be angry with you,\nsince you have done me no injury at all?\u201d\n\nTo this the Galatians reply: \u201cWhy, then, do you say that we are\nperverted, that we have forsaken the true doctrine, that we are foolish,\nbewitched, etc., if you are not angry? We must have offended you\nsomehow.\u201d\n\nPaul answers: \u201cYou Galatians have not injured me. You have injured\nyourselves. I chide you not because I wish you ill. I have no reason\nto wish you ill. God is my witness, you have done me no wrong. On the\ncontrary, you have been very good to me. The reason I write to you is\nbecause I love you.\u201d\n\nThe bitter potion must be sweetened with honey and sugar to make it\npalatable. When parents have punished their children they give them\napples, pears, and other good things to show them that they mean well.\n\n\n  VERSES 13, 14. Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached\n the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation which was in my\n flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of\n God, even as Christ Jesus.\n\n\u201cYou Galatians were very good to me. When I began to preach the Gospel\nto you in the infirmity of my flesh and in great temptation you were\nnot at all offended. On the contrary, you were so loving, so kind, so\nfriendly towards me, you received me like an angel, like Jesus Himself.\u201d\n\nIndeed, the Galatians are to be commended for receiving the Gospel from\na man as unimposing and afflicted all around as Paul was. Wherever\nhe preached the Gospel, Jews and Gentiles raved against him. All the\ninfluential and religious people of his day denounced him. But the\nGalatians did not mind it. That was greatly to their honor. And Paul\ndoes not neglect to praise them for it. This praise Paul bestows on none\nof the other churches to which he wrote.\n\nSt. Jerome and others of the ancient fathers allege this infirmity of\nPaul\u2019s to have been some physical defect, or concupiscence. Jerome and\nthe other diagnosticians lived at a time when the Church enjoyed peace\nand prosperity, when the bishops increased in wealth and standing, when\npastors and bishops no longer sat over the Word of God. No wonder they\nfailed to understand Paul.\n\nWhen Paul speaks of the infirmity of his flesh he does not mean some\nphysical defect or carnal lust, but the sufferings and afflictions which\nhe endured in his body. What these infirmities were he himself explains\nin II Corinthians 12:9, 10: \u201cMost gladly therefore will I rather glory\nin my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore\nI take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in\npersecutions, in distresses for Christ\u2019s sake: for when I am weak,\nthen am I strong.\u201d And in the eleventh chapter of the same Epistle the\nApostle writes: \u201cIn labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in\nprisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received\nI forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I\nstoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck,\u201d etc. (II Cor. 11:23-25.) By the\ninfirmity of his flesh Paul meant these afflictions and not some chronic\ndisease. He reminds the Galatians how he was always in peril at the\nhands of the Jews, Gentiles, and false brethren, how he suffered hunger\nand want.\n\nNow, the afflictions of the believers always offend people. Paul knew it\nand therefore has high praise for the Galatians because they overlooked\nhis afflictions and received him like an angel. Christ forewarned the\nfaithful against the offense of the Cross, saying: \u201cBlessed is he,\nwhosoever shall not be offended in me.\u201d (Matt. 11:6.) Surely it is no\neasy thing to confess Him Lord of all and Savior of the world who was a\nreproach of men, and despised of the people, and the laughing stock of\nthe world. (Ps. 22:7.) I say, to value this poor Christ, so spitefully\nscorned, spit upon, scourged, and crucified, more than the riches of\nthe richest, the strength of the strongest, the wisdom of the wisest, is\nsomething. It is worth being called blessed.\n\nPaul not only had outward afflictions but also inner, spiritual\nafflictions. He refers to these in II Corinthians 7:6, \u201cWithout were\nfightings, within were fears.\u201d In his letter to the Philippians Paul\nmakes mention of the restoration of Epaphroditus as a special act of\nmercy on the part of God, \u201clest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.\u201d\n\nConsidering the many afflictions of Paul, we are not surprised to hear\nhim loudly praising the Galatians for not being offended at him as\nothers were. The world thinks us mad because we go about to comfort, to\nhelp, to save others while we ourselves are in distress. People tell us:\n\u201cPhysician, heal thyself.\u201d (Luke 4:23.)\n\nThe Apostle tells the Galatians that he will keep their kindness in\nperpetual remembrance. Indirectly, he also reminds them how much they\nhad loved him before the invasion of the false apostles, and gives them\na hint that they should return to their first love for him.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?\n\n\u201cHow much happier you used to be. And how you Galatians used to tell\nme that you were blessed. And how much did I not praise and commend you\nformerly.\u201d Paul reminds them of former and better times in an effort to\nmitigate his sharp reproaches, lest the false apostles should slander\nhim and misconstrue his letter to his disadvantage and to their own\nadvantage. Such snakes in the grass are equal to anything. They will\npervert words spoken from a sincere heart and twist them to mean just\nthe opposite of what they were intended to convey. They are like spiders\nthat suck venom out of sweet and fragrant flowers. The poison is not in\nthe flowers, but it is the nature of the spider to turn what is good and\nwholesome into poison.\n\n\n  VERSE 15. For I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye\n  would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.\n\nThe Apostle continues his praise of the Galatians. \u201cYou did not only\ntreat me very courteously. If it had been necessary you would have\nplucked out your eyes and sacrificed your lives for me.\u201d And in very\nfact the Galatians sacrificed their lives for Paul. By receiving and\nmaintaining Paul they called upon their own heads the hatred and malice\nof all the Jews and Gentiles.\n\nNowadays the name of Luther carries the same stigma. Whoever praises\nLuther is a worse sinner than an idolater, perjurer, or thief.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the\n  truth?\n\nPaul\u2019s reason for praising the Galatians is to avoid giving them the\nimpression as if he were their enemy because he had reprimanded them.\n\nA true friend will admonish his erring brother, and if the erring\nbrother has any sense at all he will thank his friend. In the world\ntruth produces hatred. Whoever speaks the truth is counted an enemy.\nBut among friends it is not so, much less among Christians. The Apostle\nwants his Galatians to know that just because he had told them the\ntruth they are not to think that he dislikes them. \u201cI told you the truth\nbecause I love you.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 17. They zealously affect you, but not well.\n\nPaul takes the false apostles to task for their flattery. Satan\u2019s\nsatellites softsoap the people. Paul calls it \u201cby good words and fair\nspeeches to deceive the hearts of the simple.\u201d (Romans 16:18.)\n\nThey tell me that by my stubbornness in this doctrine of the Sacrament I\nam destroying the harmony of the church. They say it would be better if\nwe would make some slight concession rather than cause such commotion\nand controversy in the Church regarding an article which is not even one\nof the fundamental doctrines. My reply is, cursed be any love or harmony\nwhich demands for its preservation that we place the Word of God in\njeopardy!\n\n\n  VERSE 17. Yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.\n\n\u201cDo you Galatians know why the false apostles are so zealous about you?\nThey expect you to reciprocate. And that would leave me out. If their\nzeal were right they would not mind your loving me. But they hate my\ndoctrine and want to stamp it out. In order to bring this to pass they\ngo about to alienate your hearts from me and to make me obnoxious to\nyou.\u201d In this way Paul brings the false apostles into suspicion. He\nquestions their motives. He maintains that their zeal is mere pretense\nto deceive the Galatians. Our Savior Christ also warned us, saying:\n\u201cBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing.\u201d\n(Matt. 7:15.)\n\nPaul was considerably disturbed by the commissions and changes that\nfollowed in the wake of his preaching. He was accused of being \u201ca\npestilent fellow, a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the\nworld.\u201d (Acts 24:5.) In Philippi the townspeople cried that he troubled\ntheir city and taught customs which were not lawful for them to receive.\n(Acts 16:20, 21.)\n\nAll troubles, calamities, famines, wars were laid to the charge of the\nGospel of the apostles. However, the apostles were not deterred by such\ncalumnies from preaching the Gospel. They knew that they \u201cought to obey\nGod rather than men,\u201d and that it was better for the world to be upset\nthan to be ignorant of Christ.\n\nDo you think for a moment that these reactions did not worry the\napostles? They were not made of iron. They foresaw the revolutionary\ncharacter of the Gospel. They also foresaw the dissensions that would\ncreep into the Church. It was bad news for Paul when he heard that the\nCorinthians were denying the resurrection of the dead, that the churches\nhe had planted were experiencing all kinds of difficulties, and that the\nGospel was being supplanted by false doctrines.\n\nBut Paul also knew that the Gospel was not to blame. He did not resign\nhis office because he knew that the Gospel he preached was the power of\nGod unto salvation to every one that believes.\n\nThe same criticism which was leveled at the apostles is leveled at us.\nThe doctrine of the Gospel, we are told, is the cause of all the present\nunrest in the world. There is no wrong that is not laid to our charge.\nBut why? We do not spread wicked lies. We preach the glad tidings of\nChrist. Our opponents will bear us out when we say that we never fail to\nurge respect for the constituted authorities, because that is the will\nof God.\n\nAll of these vilifications cannot discourage us. We know that there is\nnothing the devil hates worse than the Gospel. It is one of his little\ntricks to blame the Gospel for every evil in the world. Formerly, when\nthe traditions of the fathers were taught in the Church, the devil was\nnot excited as he is now. It goes to show that our doctrine is of God,\nelse \u201cbehemoth would lie under shady trees, in the covert of the reed,\nand fens.\u201d The fact that he is again walking about as a roaring lion to\nstir up riots and disorders is a sure sign that he has begun to feel the\neffect of our preaching.\n\n\n  VERSE 18. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good\n  thing, and not only when I am present with you.\n\n\u201cWhen I was present with you, you loved me, although I preached the\nGospel to you in the infirmity of my flesh. The fact that I am now\nabsent from you ought not to change your attitude towards me. Although I\nam absent in the flesh, I am with you in spirit and in my doctrine which\nyou ought to retain by all means because through it you received the\nHoly Spirit.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 19. My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until\n  Christ be formed in you.\n\nWith every single word the Apostle seeks to regain the confidence of the\nGalatians. He now calls them lovingly his little children. He adds the\nsimile: \u201cOf whom I travail in birth again.\u201d As parents reproduce their\nphysical characteristics in their children, so the apostles reproduced\ntheir faith in the hearts of the hearers, until Christ was formed in\nthem. A person has the form of Christ when he believes in Christ to the\nexclusion of everything else. This faith in Christ is engendered by the\nGospel as the Apostle declares in I Corinthians 4:15: \u201cIn Christ Jesus\nI have begotten you through the Gospel\u201d; and in II Corinthians 3:3, \u201cYe\nare the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but\nwith the Spirit of the living God.\u201d The Word of God falling from the\nlips of the apostle or minister enters into the heart of the hearer.\nThe Holy Ghost impregnates the Word so that it brings forth the fruit of\nfaith. In this manner every Christian pastor is a spiritual father who\nforms Christ in the hearts of his hearers.\n\nAt the same time Paul indicts the false apostles. He says: \u201cI have\nbegotten you Galatians through the Gospel, giving you the form of\nChrist. But these false apostles are giving you a new form, the form of\nMoses.\u201d Note the Apostle does not say, \u201cOf whom I travail in birth again\nuntil I be formed in you,\u201d but \u201cuntil Christ be formed in you.\u201d The\nfalse apostles had torn the form of Christ out of the hearts of the\nGalatians and substituted their own form. Paul endeavors to reform them,\nor rather reform Christ in them.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice.\n\nA common saying has it that a letter is a dead messenger. Something is\nlacking in all writing. You can never be sure how the written page will\naffect the reader, because his mood, his circumstances, his affections\nare so changeable. It is different with the spoken word. If it is\nharsh and ill-timed it can always be remodeled. No wonder the Apostle\nexpresses the wish that he could speak to the Galatians in person. He\ncould change his voice according to their attitude. If he saw that they\nwere repentant he could soften the tone of his voice. If he saw that\nthey were stubborn he could speak to them more earnestly. This way he\ndid not know how to deal with them by letter. If his Epistle is too\nsevere it will do more damage than good. If it is too gentle, it will\nnot correct conditions. But if he could be with them in person he could\nchange his voice as the occasion demanded.\n\n\n  VERSE 20. For I stand in doubt of you.\n\n\u201cI do not know how to take you. I do not know how to approach you by\nletter.\u201d In order to make sure that he leaves no stone unturned in his\neffort to recall them to the Gospel of Christ, he chides, entreats,\npraises, and blames the Galatians, trying every way to hit the right\nnote and tone of voice.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear\n  the law?\n\nHere Paul would have closed his Epistle because he did not know\nwhat else to say. He wishes he could see the Galatians in person and\nstraighten out their difficulties. But he is not sure whether the\nGalatians have fully understood the difference between the Gospel and\nthe Law. To make sure, he introduces another illustration. He knows\npeople like illustrations and stories. He knows that Christ Himself made\nample use of parables.\n\nPaul is an expert at allegories. They are dangerous things. Unless a\nperson has a thorough knowledge of Christian doctrine he had better\nleave allegories alone.\n\nThe allegory which Paul is about to bring is taken from the Book of\nGenesis which he calls the Law. True, that book contains no mention of\nthe Law. Paul simply follows the custom of the Jews who included the\nfirst book of Moses in the collective term, \u201cLaw.\u201d Jesus even included\nthe Psalms.\n\n\n  VERSES 22, 23. For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one\n  by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the\n  bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was\n  by promise.\n\nThis is Paul\u2019s allegory. Abraham had two sons: Ishmael by Hagar, and\nIsaac by Sarah. They were both the true sons of Abraham, with this\ndifference, that Ishmael was born after the flesh, i.e., without the\ncommandment and promise of God, while Isaac was born according to the\npromise.\n\nWith the permission of Sarah, Abraham took Hagar, Sarah\u2019s bondwoman, to\nwife. Sarah knew that God had promised to make her husband Abraham the\nfather of a nation, and she hoped that she would be the mother of this\npromised nation. But with the passage of the years her hope died out. In\norder that the promise of God should not be annulled by her barrenness\nthis holy woman resigned her right and honor to her maid. This was no\neasy thing for her to do. She abased herself. She thought: \u201cGod is no\nliar. What He has promised He will perform. But perhaps God does not\nwant me to be the mother of Abraham\u2019s posterity. Perhaps He prefers\nHagar for the honor.\u201d\n\nIshmael was thus born without a special word or promise of God, at the\nmere request of Sarah. God did not command Abraham to take Hagar, nor\ndid God promise to bless the coalition. It is evident that Ishmael was\nthe son of Abraham after the flesh, and not after the promise.\n\nIn the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans St. Paul advances\nthe same argument which he amplifies into an allegory in writing to the\nGalatians. There he argues that all the children of Abraham are not the\nchildren of God. For Abraham had two kinds of children, children born of\nthe promise, like Isaac, and other children born without the promise,\nas Ishmael. With this argument Paul squelched the proud Jews who gloried\nthat they were the children of God because they were the seed and the\nchildren of Abraham. Paul makes it clear enough that it takes more\nthan an Abrahamic pedigree to be a child of God. To be a child of God\nrequires faith in Christ.\n\n\n  VERSE 24. Which things are an allegory.\n\nAllegories are not very convincing, but like pictures they visualize a\nmatter. If Paul had not brought in advance indisputable arguments for\nthe righteousness of faith over against the righteousness of works this\nallegory would do little good. Having first fortified his case with\ninvincible arguments, he can afford to inject this allegory to add\nimpressiveness and beauty to his presentation.\n\n\n  VERSES 24, 25. For these are the two covenants; the one from the mount\n  Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is\n  mount Sinai in Arabia.\n\nIn this allegory Abraham represents God. Abraham had two sons, born\nrespectively of Hagar and Sarah. The two women represent the two\nTestaments. The Old Testament is Mount Sinai, the bondwoman, Hagar. The\nArabians call Mount Sinai Agar. It may be that the similarity of these\ntwo names gave Paul his idea for this allegory. As Hagar bore Abraham\na son who was not an heir but a servant, so Sinai, the Law, the\nallegorical Hagar, bore God a carnal and servile people of the Law\nwithout promise. The Law has a promise but it is a conditional promise,\ndepending upon whether people fulfill the Law.\n\nThe Jews regarded the conditional promises of the Law as if they were\nunconditional. When the prophets foretold the destruction of Jerusalem,\nthe Jews stoned them as blasphemers of God. They never gave it any\nthought that there was a condition attached to the Law which reads: \u201cIf\nyou keep the commandments it shall be well with thee.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 25. And answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage\n  with her children.\n\nA little while ago Paul called Mount Sinai, Hagar. He would now gladly\nmake Jerusalem the Sarah of the New Testament, but he cannot. The\nearthly Jerusalem is not Sarah, but a part of Hagar. Hagar lives there\nin the home of the Law, the Temple, the priesthood, the ceremonies, and\nwhatever else was ordained in the Law at Mount Sinai.\n\nI would have been tempted to call Jerusalem, Sarah, or the New\nTestament. I would have been pleased with this turn of the allegory. It\ngoes to show that not everybody has the gift of allegory. Would you not\nthink it perfectly proper to call Sinai Hagar and Jerusalem Sarah? True,\nPaul does call Sarah Jerusalem. But he has the spiritual and heavenly\nJerusalem in mind, not the earthly Jerusalem. Sarah represents that\nspiritual Jerusalem where there is no Law but only the promise, and\nwhere the inhabitants are free.\n\nTo show that the Law has been quite abolished, the earthly Jerusalem was\ncompletely destroyed with all her ornaments, temples, and ceremonies.\n\n\n  VERSE 26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of\n  us all.\n\nThe earthly Jerusalem with its ordinances and laws represents Hagar\nand her offspring. They are slaves to the Law, sin and death. But the\nheavenly Jerusalem is Sarah, the free woman. This heavenly Jerusalem is\nthe Church, that is to say the number of all believers throughout the\nworld, having one and the same Gospel, one and the same faith in Christ,\none and the same Holy Ghost, and the same sacraments.\n\nDo not mistake this one word \u201cabove\u201d to refer to the triumphant Church\nin heaven, but to the militant Church on earth. In Philippians 3:20, the\nApostle uses the phrase: \u201cOur conversation is in heaven,\u201d not locally in\nheaven, but in spirit. When a believer accepts the heavenly gifts of the\nGospel he is in heaven. So also in Ephesians 1:3, \u201cWho hath blessed us\nwith all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.\u201d Jerusalem\nhere means the universal Christian Church on earth.\n\nSarah, the Church, as the bride of Christ bears free children who are\nnot subject to the Law.\n\n\n  VERSE 27. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not;\n  break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath\n  many more children than she which hath an husband.\n\nPaul quotes the allegorical prophecy of Isaiah to the effect that the\nmother of many children must die desolately, while the barren woman\nshall have an abundance of children. (Isaiah 54:1.) He applies this\nprophecy to Hagar and Sarah, to the Law and the Gospel. The Law as the\nhusband of the fruitful woman procreates many children. For men of all\nages have had the idea that they are right when they follow after the\nLaw and outwardly perform its requirements.\n\nAlthough the Law has many children, they are not free. They are slaves.\nAs servants they cannot have a share in the inheritance, but are driven\nfrom the house as Ishmael was cast out of the house of Abraham. In fact\nthe servants of the Law are even now barred from the kingdom of light\nand liberty, for \u201che that believeth not, is condemned already.\u201d (John\n3:18.) As the servants of the Law they remain under the curse of the\nLaw, under sin and death, under the power of the devil, and under the\nwrath and judgment of God.\n\nOn the other hand, Sarah, the free Church, seems barren. The Gospel of\nthe Cross which the Church proclaims does not have the appeal that the\nLaw has for men, and therefore it does not find many adherents. The\nChurch does not look prosperous. Unbelievers have always predicted the\ndeath of the Church. The Jews were quite certain that the Church would\nnot long endure. They said to Paul: \u201cAs concerning this sect, we know\nthat everywhere it is spoken against.\u201d (Acts 28:22.) No matter how\nbarren and forsaken, how weak and desolate the Church may seem, she\nalone is really fruitful before God. By the Gospel she procreates an\ninfinite number of children that are free heirs of everlasting life.\n\nThe Law, \u201cthe old husband,\u201d is really dead. But not all people know it,\nor want to know it. They labor and bear the burden and the heat of the\nday, and bring forth many children, children that are bastards like\nthemselves, children born to be put out of the house like Ishmael to\nperish forever. Accursed be that doctrine, life, and religion which\nendeavors to obtain righteousness before God by the Law and its creeds.\n\nThe scholastics think that the judicial and ceremonial laws of Moses\nwere abolished by the coming of Christ, but not the moral law. They are\nblind. When Paul declares that we are delivered from the curse of the\nLaw he means the whole Law, particularly the moral law which more than\nthe other laws accuses, curses, and condemns the conscience. The Ten\nCommandments have no right to condemn that conscience in which Jesus\ndwells, for Jesus has taken from the Ten Commandments the right and\npower to curse us.\n\nNot as if the conscience is now insensitive to the terrors of the Law,\nbut the Law cannot drive the conscience to despair. \u201cThere is now no\ncondemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.\u201d (Romans 8:1.) \u201cIf the\nSon shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.\u201d (John 8:36.)\n\nYou will complain: \u201cBut I am not doing anything.\u201d That is right. You\ncannot do a thing to be delivered from the tyranny of the Law. But\nlisten to the glad tidings which the Holy Ghost brings to you in the\nwords of the prophet: \u201cRejoice, thou barren.\u201d As Christ is greater than\nthe Law, so much more excellent is the righteousness of Christ than the\nrighteousness of the Law.\n\nIn one more respect the Law has been abolished. The civil laws of Moses\ndo not concern us, and should not be put back in force. That does not\nmean that we are exempt from obedience to the civil laws under which we\nlive. On the contrary, the Gospel commands Christians to obey government\n\u201cnot only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.\u201d (Romans 13:5.)\n\nNeither do the ordinances of Moses or those of the Pope concern us. But\nbecause life cannot go on without some ordinances, the Gospel permits\nregulations to be made in the Church in regard to special days, times,\nplaces, etc., in order that the people may know upon what day, at what\nhour, and in what place to assemble for the Word of God. Such directions\nare desirable that \u201call things be done decently and in order.\u201d (I Cor.\n14:40.) These directions may be changed or omitted altogether, as long\nas no offense is given to the weak.\n\nPaul, however, refers particularly to the abolition of the moral law. If\nfaith alone in Christ justifies, then the whole Law is abolished without\nexception. And this the Apostle proves by the testimony of Isaiah, who\nbids the barren to rejoice because she will have many children, whereas\nshe that has a husband and many children will be forsaken.\n\nIsaiah calls the Church barren because her children are born without\neffort by the Word of faith through the Spirit of God. It is a matter of\nbirth, not of exertion. The believer too works, but not in an effort to\nbecome a son and an heir of God. He is that before he goes to work. He\nis born a son and an heir. He works for the glory of God and the welfare\nof his fellowmen.\n\n\n  VERSE 28. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.\n\nThe Jews claimed to be the children of God because they were the\nchildren of Abraham. Jesus answered them, John 8:39, 40, \u201cIf ye were\nAbraham\u2019s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to\nkill me, a man that hath told you the truth.\u201d And in verse 42: \u201cIf God\nwere your Father, ye would love me.\u201d In other words: \u201cYou are not the\nchildren of God. If you were, you would know and love me. Brothers born\nand living together in the same house recognize each other. You do not\nrecognize me. You are of your father, the devil.\u201d\n\nWe are not like these Jews, the children of the bondwoman, the Law, who\nwere cast out of the house by Jesus. We are children of the promise like\nIsaac, born of grace and faith unto an everlasting inheritance.\n\n\n  VERSE 29. But as that he that was born after the flesh persecuted him\n  that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.\n\nThis is a cheering thought. We who are born of the Gospel, and live in\nChrist, and rejoice in our inheritance, have Ishmael for our enemy. The\nchildren of the Law will always persecute the children of the Gospel.\nThis is our daily experience. Our opponents tell us that everything was\nat peace before the Gospel was revived by us. Since then the whole world\nhas been upset. People blame us and the Gospel for everything, for\nthe disobedience of subjects to their rulers, for wars, plagues, and\nfamines, for revolutions, and every other evil that can be imagined.\nNo wonder our opponents think they are doing God a favor by hating and\npersecuting us. Ishmael will persecute Isaac.\n\nWe invite our opponents to tell us what good things attended the\npreaching of the Gospel by the apostles. Did not the destruction of\nJerusalem follow on the heels of the Gospel? And how about the overthrow\nof the Roman Empire? Did not the whole world seethe with unrest as the\nGospel was preached in the whole world? We do not say that the Gospel\ninstigated these upheavals. The iniquity of man did it.\n\nOur opponents blame our doctrine for the present turmoil. But ours is a\ndoctrine of grace and peace. It does not stir up trouble. Trouble starts\nwhen the people, the nations and their rulers of the earth rage and take\ncounsel together against the Lord, and against His anointed. (Psalm 2.)\nBut all their counsels shall be brought to naught. \u201cHe that sitteth in\nthe heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.\u201d (Psalm\n2:4.) Let them cry out against us as much as they like. We know that\nthey are the cause of all their own troubles.\n\nAs long as we preach Christ and confess Him to be our Savior, we must be\ncontent to be called vicious trouble makers. \u201cThese that have turned the\nworld upside down are come hither also; and these all do contrary to the\ndecrees of Caesar,\u201d so said the Jews of Paul and Silas. (Acts 17:6, 7.)\nOf Paul they said: \u201cWe have found this man a pestilent fellow, and\na mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a\nringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.\u201d The Gentiles uttered similar\ncomplaints: \u201cThese men do exceedingly trouble our city.\u201d\n\nThis man Luther is also accused of being a pestilent fellow who troubles\nthe papacy and the Roman empire. If I would keep silent, all would be\nwell, and the Pope would no more persecute me. The moment I open my\nmouth the Pope begins to fume and to rage. It seems we must choose\nbetween Christ and the Pope. Let the Pope perish.\n\nChrist foresaw the reaction of the world to the Gospel. He said: \u201cI\nam come to send fire on the earth, and what will I, if it be already\nkindled?\u201d (Luke 12:49.)\n\nDo not take the statement of our opponents seriously, that no good can\ncome of the preaching of the Gospel. What do they know? They would not\nrecognize the fruits of the Gospel if they saw them.\n\nAt any rate, our opponents cannot accuse us of adultery, murder, theft,\nand such crimes. The worst they can say about us is that we have the\nGospel. What is wrong with the Gospel? We teach that Christ, the Son\nof God, has redeemed us from sin and everlasting death. This is not our\ndoctrine. It belongs to Christ. If there is anything wrong with it, it\nis not our fault. If they want to condemn Christ for being our Savior\nand Redeemer, that is their lookout. We are mere onlookers, watching to\nsee who will win the victory, Christ or His opponents.\n\nOn one occasion Jesus remarked: \u201cIf ye were of the world, the world\nwould love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have\nchosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.\u201d (John\n15:19.) In other words: \u201cI am the cause of all your troubles. I am the\none for whose sake you are killed. If you did not confess my name, the\nworld would not hate you. The servant is not greater than his lord. If\nthey have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.\u201d\n\nChrist takes all the blame. He says: \u201cYou have not incurred the hatred\nand persecutions of the world. I have. But be of good cheer; I have\novercome the world.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 30. Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the\n  bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir\n  with the son of the free woman.\n\nSarah\u2019s demand that the bondwoman and her son be cast out of the house\nwas undoubtedly a blow to Abraham. He felt sorry for his son Ishmael.\nThe Scripture explicitly states Abraham\u2019s grief in the words: \u201cAnd the\nthing was very grievous in Abraham\u2019s sight, because of his son.\u201d (Gen.\n21:11.) But God approved Sarah\u2019s action and said to Abraham: \u201cLet it\nnot be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy\nbondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her\nvoice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.\u201d (Gen. 21:12.)\n\nThe Holy Ghost contemptuously calls the admirers of the Law the children\nof the bondwoman. \u201cIf you do not know your mother, I will tell you what\nkind of a woman she is. She is a slave. And you are slaves. You are\nslaves of the Law and therefore slaves of sin, death, and everlasting\ndamnation. You are not fit to be heirs. You are put out of the house.\u201d\n\nThis is the sentence which God pronounces upon the Ishmaelites, the\npapists, and all others who trust in their own merits, and persecute\nthe Church of Christ. Because they are slaves and persecutors of the\nchildren of the free woman, they shall be cast out of the house of\nGod forever. They shall have no inheritance with the children of the\npromise. This sentence stands forever.\n\nThis sentence affects not only those popes, cardinals bishops, and\nmonks who were notoriously wicked and made their bellies their Gods.\nIt strikes, also, those who lived in all sincerity to please God and to\nmerit the forgiveness of their sins through a life of self-denial. Even\nthese will be cast out, because they are children of the bondwoman.\n\nOur opponents do not defend their own moral delinquency. The better ones\ndeplore and abhor it. But they defend and uphold their doctrine of\nworks which is of the devil. Our quarrel is not with those who live in\nmanifest sins. Our quarrel is with those among them who think they live\nlike angels, claiming that they do not only perform the Ten Commandments\nof God, but also the sayings of Christ, and many good works that God\ndoes not expect of them. We quarrel with them because they refuse to\nhave Jesus\u2019 merit count alone for righteousness.\n\nSt. Bernard was one of the best of the medieval saints. He lived a\nchaste and holy life. But when it came to dying he did not trust in his\nchaste life for salvation. He prayed: \u201cI have lived a wicked life. But\nThou, Lord Jesus, hast a heaven to give unto me. First, because Thou art\nthe Son of God. Secondly, because Thou hast purchased heaven for me by\nThy suffering and death. Thou givest heaven to me, not because I earned\nit, but because Thou hast earned it for me.\u201d If any of the Romanists\nare saved it is because they forget their good deeds and merits and feel\nlike Paul: \u201cNot having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but\nthat which is through the faith of Christ.\u201d (Phil. 3:9.)\n\n\n  VERSE 31. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but\n  of the free.\n\nWith this sentence the Apostle Paul concludes his allegory of the barren\nChurch. This sentence forms a clear rejection of the righteousness of\nthe Law and a confirmation of the doctrine of justification. In the next\nchapter Paul lays special stress upon the freedom which the children of\nthe free woman enjoy. He treats of Christian liberty, the knowledge of\nwhich is very necessary. The liberty which Christ purchased for us is a\nbulwark to us in our battle against spiritual tyranny. Therefore we must\ncarefully study this doctrine of Christian liberty, not only for the\nconfirmation of the doctrine of justification, but also for the comfort\nand encouragement of those who are weak in faith.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 5\n\n\nIN this chapter the Apostle Paul presents the doctrine of Christian\nliberty in a final effort to persuade the Galatians to give up the\nnefarious doctrine of the false apostles. To accomplish his purpose he\nadduces threats and promises, trying in every way possible to keep them\nin the liberty which Christ purchased for them.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made\n  us free.\n\n\u201cBe steadfast, not careless. Lie not down and sleep, but stand up. Be\nwatchful. Hold fast the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free.\u201d\nThose who loll cannot keep this liberty. Satan hates the light of the\nGospel. When it begins to shine a little he fights against it with might\nand main.\n\nWhat liberty does Paul mean? Not civil liberty (for which we have the\ngovernment to thank), but the liberty which Christ has procured for us.\n\nAt one time the emperor was compelled to grant to the bishop of Rome\ncertain immunities and privileges. This is civil liberty. That liberty\nexempts the clergy from certain public charges. Then there is also\nanother kind of \u201cliberty,\u201d when people obey neither the laws of God nor\nthe laws of men, but do as they please. This carnal liberty the people\nwant in our day. We are not now speaking of this liberty. Neither are we\nspeaking of civil liberty.\n\nPaul is speaking of a far better liberty, the liberty \u201cwherewith Christ\nhath made us free,\u201d not from material bonds, not from the Babylonian\ncaptivity, not from the tyranny of the Turks, but from the eternal wrath\nof God.\n\nWhere is this liberty?\n\nIn the conscience.\n\nOur conscience is free and quiet because it no longer has to fear the\nwrath of God. This is real liberty, compared with which every other kind\nof liberty is not worth mentioning. Who can adequately express the boon\nthat comes to a person when he has the heart-assurance that God will\nnevermore be angry with him, but will forever be merciful to him for\nChrist\u2019s sake? This is indeed a marvelous liberty, to have the sovereign\nGod for our Friend and Father who will defend, maintain, and save us in\nthis life and in the life to come.\n\nAs an outgrowth of this liberty, we are at the same time free from the\nLaw, sin, death, the power of the devil, hell, etc. Since the wrath of\nGod has been assuaged by Christ no Law, sin, or death may now accuse and\ncondemn us. These foes of ours will continue to frighten us, but not too\nmuch. The worth of our Christian liberty cannot be exaggerated.\n\nOur conscience must be trained to fall back on the freedom purchased\nfor us by Christ. Though the fears of the Law, the terrors of sin, the\nhorror of death assail us occasionally, we know that these feelings\nshall not endure, because the prophet quotes God as saying: \u201cIn a\nlittle wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with everlasting\nkindness will I have mercy on thee.\u201d (Isa. 54:8.)\n\nWe shall appreciate this liberty all the more when we bear in mind\nthat it was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who purchased it with His own\nblood. Hence, Christ\u2019s liberty is given us not by the Law, or for our\nown righteousness, but freely for Christ\u2019s sake. In the eighth chapter\nof the Gospel of St. John, Jesus declares: \u201cIf the Son shall make you\nfree, ye shall be free indeed.\u201d He only stands between us and the evils\nwhich trouble and afflict us and which He has overcome for us.\n\nReason cannot properly evaluate this gift. Who can fully appreciate\nthe blessing of the forgiveness of sins and of everlasting life? Our\nopponents claim that they also possess this liberty. But they do not.\nWhen they are put to the test all their self-confidence slips from them.\nWhat else can they expect when they trust in works and not in the Word\nof God?\n\nOur liberty is founded on Christ Himself, who sits at the right hand of\nGod and intercedes for us. Therefore our liberty is sure and valid\nas long as we believe in Christ. As long as we cling to Him with a\nsteadfast faith we possess His priceless gifts. But if we are careless\nand indifferent we shall lose them. It is not without good reason\nthat Paul urges us to watch and to stand fast. He knew that the devil\ndelights in taking this liberty away from us.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. And be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.\n\nBecause reason prefers the righteousness of the Law to the righteousness\nof faith, Paul calls the Law a yoke, a yoke of bondage. Peter also\ncalls it a yoke. \u201cWhy tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the\ndisciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?\u201d (Acts\n15:10.)\n\nIn this passage Paul again disparages the pernicious notion that the\nLaw is able to make men righteous before God, a notion deeply rooted in\nman\u2019s reason. All mankind is so wrapped up in this idea that it is hard\nto drag it out of people. Paul compares those who seek to be justified\nby the Law to oxen that are hitched to the yoke. Like oxen that toil in\nthe yoke all day, and in the evening are turned out to graze along the\ndusty road, and at last are marked for slaughter when they no longer\ncan draw the burden, so those who seek to be justified by the Law are\n\u201centangled with the yoke of bondage,\u201d and when they have grown old\nand broken-down in the service of the Law they have earned for their\nperpetual reward God\u2019s wrath and everlasting torment.\n\nWe are not now treating of an unimportant matter. It is a matter that\ninvolves everlasting liberty or everlasting slavery. For as a liberation\nfrom God\u2019s wrath through the kind office of Christ is not a passing\nboon, but a permanent blessing, so also the yoke of the Law is not a\ntemporary but an everlasting affliction.\n\nRightly are the doers of the Law called devil\u2019s martyrs. They take more\npains to earn hell than the martyrs of Christ to obtain heaven. Theirs\nis a double misfortune. First they torture themselves on earth with\nself-inflicted penances and finally when they die they gain the reward\nof eternal damnation.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ\n  shall profit you nothing.\n\nPaul is incensed at the thought of the tyranny of the Law. His\nantagonism to the Law is a personal matter with him. \u201cBehold, I, Paul,\u201d\nhe says, \u201cI who have received the Gospel not from men, but by the\nrevelation of Jesus Christ: I who have been commissioned from above\nto preach the Gospel to you: I Paul say to you, If you submit to\ncircumcision Christ will profit you nothing.\u201d Paul emphatically declares\nthat for the Galatians to be circumcised would mean for them to lose the\nbenefits of Christ\u2019s suffering and death. This passage may well serve as\na criterion for all the religions. To teach that besides faith in Christ\nother devices like works, or the observance of rules, traditions,\nor ceremonies are necessary for the attainment of righteousness and\neverlasting life, is to make Christ and His salvation of no benefit to\nanybody.\n\nThis passage is an indictment of the whole papacy. All priests, monks,\nand nuns--and I am now speaking of the best of them--who repose their\nhope for salvation in their own works, and not in Christ, whom they\nimagine to be an angry judge, hear this sentence pronounced against them\nthat Christ shall profit them nothing. If one can earn the forgiveness\nof sins and everlasting life through one\u2019s own efforts to what purpose\nwas Christ born? What was the purpose of His suffering and death, His\nresurrection, His victory over sin, death, and the devil, if men may\novercome these evils by their own endeavor? Tongue cannot express, nor\nheart conceive what a terrible thing it is to make Christ worthless.\n\nThe person who is not moved by these considerations to leave the Law and\nthe confidence in his own righteousness for the liberty in Christ, has a\nheart that is harder than stone and iron.\n\nPaul does not condemn circumcision in itself. Circumcision is not\ninjurious to the person who does not ascribe any particular importance\nto it. Neither are works injurious provided a person does not attach\nany saving value to them. The Apostle does not say that works are\nobjectionable, but to build one\u2019s hopes for righteousness on works is\ndisastrous, for that makes Christ good for nothing.\n\nLet us bear this in mind when the devil accuses our conscience. When\nthat dragon accuses us of having done no good at all, but only evil, say\nto him: \u201cYou trouble me with the remembrance of my past sins; you remind\nme that I have done no good. But this does not bother me, because if I\nwere to trust in my own good deeds, or despair because I have done no\ngood deeds, Christ would profit me neither way. I am not going to make\nhim unprofitable to me. This I would do, if I should presume to purchase\nfor myself the favor of God and everlasting life by my good deeds, or if\nI should despair of my salvation because of my sins.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he\n  is a debtor to do the whole law.\n\nThe first fault with circumcision is that it makes Christ unprofitable.\nThe second fault is that it obligates those who are circumcised to\nobserve the whole Law. Paul is so very much in earnest about this matter\nthat he confirms it with an oath. \u201cI testify,\u201d he says, \u201cI swear by the\nliving God.\u201d Paul\u2019s statement may be explained negatively to mean: \u201cI\ntestify to every man who is being circumcised that he cannot perform\nthe Law in any point. In the very act of circumcision he is not being\ncircumcised, and in the very act of fulfilling the Law he fulfills it\nnot.\u201d This seems to be the simple meaning of Paul\u2019s statement. Later on\nin the sixth chapter he explicitly states, \u201cThey themselves which are\ncircumcised keep not the law. The fact that you are circumcised does\nnot mean you are righteous and free from the Law. The truth is that by\ncircumcision you have become debtors and servants of the Law. The more\nyou endeavor to perform the Law, the more you will become tangled up in\nthe yoke of the Law.\u201d\n\nThe truth of this I have experienced in myself and in others. I have\nseen many work themselves down to the bones in their hungry effort to\nobtain peace of conscience. But the harder they tried the more they\nworried. Especially in the presence of death they were so uneasy that I\nhave seen murderers die with better grace and courage.\n\nThis holds true also in regard to the church regulations. When I was a\nmonk I tried ever so hard to live up to the strict rules of my order.\nI used to make a list of my sins, and I was always on the way to\nconfession, and whatever penances were enjoined upon me I performed\nreligiously. In spite of it all, my conscience was always in a fever of\ndoubt. The more I sought to help my poor stricken conscience the\nworse it got. The more I paid attention to the regulations the more I\ntransgressed them.\n\nHence those that seek to be justified by the Law are much further away\nfrom the righteousness of life than the publicans, sinners, and harlots.\nThey know better than to trust in their own works. They know that they\ncannot ever hope to obtain forgiveness by their sins.\n\nPaul\u2019s statement in this verse may be taken to mean that those who\nsubmit to circumcision are thereby submitting to the whole Law. To obey\nMoses in one point requires obedience to him in all points. It does no\ngood to say that only circumcision is necessary, and not the rest\nof Moses\u2019 laws. The same reasons that obligate a person to accept\ncircumcision also obligate a person to accept the whole Law. Thus to\nacknowledge the Law is tantamount to declaring that Christ is not yet\ncome. And if Christ is not yet come, then all the Jewish ceremonies and\nlaws concerning meats, places, and times are still in force, and Christ\nmust be awaited as one who is still to come. The whole Scripture,\nhowever, testifies that Christ has come, that by His death He has\nabolished the Law, and that He has fulfilled all things which the\nprophets have foretold about Him.\n\nSome would like to subjugate us to certain parts of the Mosaic Law. But\nthis is not to be permitted under any circumstances. If we permit Moses\nto rule over us in one thing, we must obey him in all things.\n\n\n  VERSE 4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are\n  justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.\n\nPaul in this verse discloses that he is not speaking so much of\ncircumcision as the trust which men repose in the outward act. We can\nhear him say: \u201cI do not condemn the Law in itself; what I condemn is\nthat men seek to be justified by the Law, as if Christ were still to\ncome, or as if He alone were unable to justify sinners. It is this that\nI condemn, because it makes Christ of no effect. It makes you void of\nChrist so that Christ is not in you, nor can you be partakers of the\nknowledge, the spirit, the fellowship, the liberty, the life, or the\nachievements of Christ. You are completely separated from Him, so much\nso that He has nothing to do with you any more, or for that matter you\nwith Him.\u201d Can anything worse be said against the Law? If you think\nChrist and the Law can dwell together in your heart, you may be sure\nthat Christ dwells not in your heart. For if Christ is in your heart He\nneither condemns you, nor does He ever bid you to trust in your own good\nworks. If you know Christ at all, you know that good works do not serve\nunto righteousness, nor evil works unto condemnation. I do not want to\nwithhold from good works their due praise, nor do I wish to encourage\nevil works. But when it comes to justification, I say, we must\nconcentrate upon Christ alone, or else we make Him non-effective. You\nmust choose between Christ and the righteousness of the Law. If you\nchoose Christ you are righteous before God. If you stick to the Law,\nChrist is of no use to you.\n\n\n  VERSE 4. Ye are fallen from grace.\n\nThat means you are no longer in the kingdom or condition of grace. When\na person on board ship falls into the sea and is drowned it makes no\ndifference from which end or side of the ship he falls into the water.\nThose who fall from grace perish no matter how they go about it. Those\nwho seek to be justified by the Law are fallen from grace and are in\ngrave danger of eternal death. If this holds true in the case of those\nwho seek to be justified by the moral Law, what will become of those,\nI should like to know, who endeavor to be justified by their own\nregulations and vows? They will fall to the very bottom of hell. \u201cOh,\nno,\u201d they say, \u201cwe will fly straight into heaven. If you live according\nto the rules of Saint Francis, Saint Dominick, Saint Benedict, you will\nobtain the peace and mercy of God. If you perform the vows of chastity,\nobedience, etc., you will be rewarded with everlasting life.\u201d Let these\nplaythings of the devil go to the place where they came from and listen\nto what Paul has to say in this verse in accordance with Christ\u2019s own\nteaching: \u201cHe that believeth in the Son of God, hath everlasting life;\nbut he that believeth not in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath\nof God abideth in him.\u201d\n\nThe words, \u201cYe are fallen from grace,\u201d must not be taken lightly. They\nare important. To fall from grace means to lose the atonement, the\nforgiveness of sins, the righteousness, liberty, and life which Jesus\nhas merited for us by His death and resurrection. To lose the grace of\nGod means to gain the wrath and judgment of God, death, the bondage of\nthe devil, and everlasting condemnation.\n\n\n  VERSE 5. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness\n  by faith.\n\nPaul concludes the whole matter with the above statement. \u201cYou want to\nbe justified by the Law, by circumcision, and by works. We cannot see\nit. To be justified by such means would make Christ of no value to us.\nWe would be obliged to perform the whole law. We rather through the\nSpirit wait for the hope of righteousness.\u201d The Apostle is not satisfied\nto say \u201cjustified by faith.\u201d He adds hope to faith.\n\nHoly Writ speaks of hope in two ways: as the object of the emotion, and\nhope as the emotion itself. In the first chapter of the Epistle to the\nColossians we have an instance of its first use: \u201cFor the hope which is\nlaid up for you in heaven,\u201d i.e., the thing hoped for. In the sense of\nemotion we quote the passage from the eighth chapter of the Epistle to\nthe Romans: \u201cFor we are saved by hope.\u201d As Paul uses the term \u201chope\u201d\nhere in writing to the Galatians, we may take it in either of its two\nmeanings. We may understand Paul to say, \u201cWe wait in spirit, through\nfaith, for the righteousness that we hope for, which in due time will be\nrevealed to us.\u201d Or we may understand Paul to say: \u201cWe wait in Spirit,\nby faith for righteousness with great hope and desire.\u201d True, we are\nrighteous, but our righteousness is not yet revealed; as long as we live\nhere sin stays with us, not to forget the law in our members striving\nagainst the law of our mind. When sin rages in our body and we through\nthe Spirit wrestle against it, then we have cause for hope. We are not\nyet perfectly righteous. Perfect righteousness is still to be attained.\nHence we hope for it.\n\nThis is sweet comfort for us. And we are to make use of it in comforting\nthe afflicted. We are to say to them: \u201cBrother, you would like to feel\nGod\u2019s favor as you feel your sin. But you are asking too much. Your\nrighteousness rests on something much better than feelings. Wait and\nhope until it will be revealed to you in the Lord\u2019s own time. Don\u2019t go\nby your feelings, but go by the doctrine of faith, which pledges Christ\nto you.\u201d\n\nThe question occurs to us, What difference is there between faith and\nhope? We find it difficult to see any difference. Faith and hope are\nso closely linked that they cannot be separated. Still there is a\ndifference between them.\n\n  First, hope and faith differ in regard to their sources. Faith\n  originates in the understanding, while hope rises in the will.\n\n  Secondly, they differ in regard to their functions. Faith says what is\n  to be done. Faith teaches, describes, directs. Hope exhorts the mind\n  to be strong and courageous.\n\n  Thirdly, they differ in regard to their objectives. Faith concentrates\n  on the truth. Hope looks to the goodness of God.\n\n  Fourthly, they differ in sequence. Faith is the beginning of life\n  before tribulation. (Hebrews 11.) Hope comes later and is born of\n  tribulation. (Romans 5.)\n\n  Fifthly, they differ in regard to their effects. Faith is a judge. It\n  judges errors. Hope is a soldier. It fights against tribulations, the\n  Cross, despondency, despair, and waits for better things to come in\n  the midst of evil.\n\nWithout hope faith cannot endure. On the other hand, hope without faith\nis blind rashness and arrogance because it lacks knowledge. Before\nanything else a Christian must have the insight of faith, so that the\nintellect may know its directions in the day of trouble and the heart\nmay hope for better things. By faith we begin, by hope we continue.\n\nThis passage contains excellent doctrine and much comfort. It declares\nthat we are justified not by works, sacrifices, or ceremonies, but by\nChrist alone. The world may judge certain things to be ever so good;\nwithout Christ they are all wrong. Circumcision and the law and good\nworks are carnal. \u201cWe,\u201d says Paul, \u201care above such things. We possess\nChrist by faith and in the midst of our afflictions we hopefully wait\nfor the consummation of our righteousness.\u201d\n\nYou may say, \u201cThe trouble is I don\u2019t feel as if I am righteous.\u201d You\nmust not feel, but believe. Unless you believe that you are righteous,\nyou do Christ a great wrong, for He has cleansed you by the washing\nof regeneration, He died for you so that through Him you may obtain\nrighteousness and everlasting life.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing,\n  nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love.\n\nFaith must of course be sincere. It must be a faith that performs good\nworks through love. If faith lacks love it is not true faith. Thus\nthe Apostle bars the way of hypocrites to the kingdom of Christ on\nall sides. He declares on the one hand, \u201cIn Christ Jesus circumcision\navaileth nothing,\u201d i.e., works avail nothing, but faith alone, and that\nwithout any merit whatever, avails before God. On the other hand, the\nApostle declares that without fruits faith serves no purpose. To think,\n\u201cIf faith justifies without works, let us work nothing,\u201d is to despise\nthe grace of God. Idle faith is not justifying faith. In this terse\nmanner Paul presents the whole life of a Christian. Inwardly it consists\nin faith towards God, outwardly in love towards our fellow-men.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey\n  the truth?\n\nThis is plain speaking. Paul asserts that he teaches the same truth now\nwhich he has always taught, and that the Galatians ran well as long as\nthey obeyed the truth. But now, misled by the false apostles, they no\nlonger run. He compares the Christian life to a race. When everything\nruns along smoothly the Hebrews spoke of it as a race. \u201cYe did run\nwell,\u201d means that everything went along smoothly and happily with the\nGalatians. They lived a Christian life and were on the right way to\neverlasting life. The words, \u201cYe did run well,\u201d are encouraging indeed.\nOften our lives seem to creep rather than to run. But if we abide in the\ntrue doctrine and walk in the spirit, we have nothing to worry about.\nGod judges our lives differently. What may seem to us a life slow in\nChristian development may seem to God a life of rapid progression in\ngrace.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?\nThe Galatians were hindered in the Christian life when they turned\nfrom faith and grace to the Law. Covertly the Apostle blames the false\napostles for impeding the Christian progress of the Galatians. The false\napostles persuaded the Galatians to believe that they were in error and\nthat they had made little or no progress under the influence of Paul.\nUnder the baneful influence of the false apostles the Galatians thought\nthey were well off and advancing rapidly in Christian knowledge and\nliving.\n\n\n  VERSE 8. This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.\n\nPaul explains how those who had been deceived by false teachers may be\nrestored to spiritual health. The false apostles were amiable fellows.\nApparently they surpassed Paul in learning and godliness. The Galatians\nwere easily deceived by outward appearances. They supposed they were\nbeing taught by Christ Himself. Paul proved to them that their new\ndoctrine was not of Christ, but of the devil. In this way he succeeded\nin regaining many. We also are able to win back many from the errors\ninto which they were seduced by showing that their beliefs are\nimaginary, wicked, and contrary to the Word of God.\n\nThe devil is a cunning persuader. He knows how to enlarge the smallest\nsin into a mountain until we think we have committed the worst crime\never committed on earth. Such stricken consciences must be comforted and\nset straight as Paul corrected the Galatians by showing them that their\nopinion is not of Christ because it runs counter to the Gospel, which\ndescribes Christ as a meek and merciful Savior.\n\nSatan will circumvent the Gospel and explain Christ in this his own\ndiabolical way: \u201cIndeed Christ is meek, gentle, and merciful, but only\nto those who are holy and righteous. If you are a sinner you stand no\nchance. Did not Christ say that unbelievers are already damned? And did\nnot Christ perform many good deeds, and suffer many evils patiently,\nbidding us to follow His example? You do not mean to say that your life\nis in accord with Christ\u2019s precepts or example? You are a sinner. You\nare no good at all.\u201d\n\nSatan is to be answered in this way: The Scriptures present Christ in a\ntwofold aspect. First, as a gift. \u201cHe of God is made unto us wisdom, and\nrighteousness, and sanctification and redemption.\u201d (I Cor. 1:30.) Hence\nmy many and grievous sins are nullified if I believe in Him. Secondly,\nthe Scriptures present Christ for our example. As an exemplar He is to\nbe placed before me only at certain times. In times of joy and gladness\nthat I may have Him as a mirror to reflect upon my shortcomings. But in\nthe day of trouble I will have Christ only as a gift. I will not listen\nto anything else, except that Christ died for my sins.\n\nTo those that are cast down on account of their sins Christ must be\nintroduced as a Savior and Gift, and not as an example. But to sinners\nwho live in a false assurance, Christ must be introduced as an example.\nThe hard sayings of Scripture and the awful judgments of God upon sin\nmust be impressed upon them. Defy Satan in times of despair. Say: \u201cO\ncursed Satan, you choose a nice time to talk to me about doing and\nworking when you know very well that I am in trouble over my sins. I\nwill not listen to you. I will listen to Christ, who says that He came\ninto the world to save sinners. This is the true Christ and there is\nnone other. I can find plenty of examples for a holy life in Abraham,\nIsaiah, John the Baptist, Paul, and other saints. But they cannot\nforgive my sins. They cannot save me. They cannot procure for me\neverlasting life. Therefore I will not have you for my teacher, O\nSatan.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 9. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.\n\nPaul\u2019s concern for them meant nothing to some of the Galatians. Many had\ndisowned him as their teacher and gone over to the false apostles.\nNo doubt the false apostles took every occasion to defame Paul as a\nstubborn and contemptuous fellow who thought nothing of disrupting the\nunity of the churches for no other reason than his selfish pride and\njealousy.\n\nOthers of the Galatians perhaps saw no harm in deviating a trifle from\nthe doctrine of justification and faith. When they noticed that Paul\nmade so much ado about a matter that seemed of no particular importance\nto them they raised their eyebrows and thought within themselves: \u201cWhat\nif we did deviate a little from the doctrine of Paul? What if we are\na little to blame? He ought to overlook the whole matter, and not make\nsuch an issue out of it, lest the unity of the churches be disturbed.\u201d\nTo this Paul replies: \u201cA little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.\u201d\n\nOur opponents record the same complaints about us. They put us down as\ncontentious, ill-tempered faultfinders. But these are the crafty passes\nof the devil, with which he seeks to overthrow our faith. We answer with\nPaul: \u201cA little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.\u201d\n\nSmall faults grow into big faults. To tolerate a trifling error\ninevitably leads to crass heresy. The doctrine of the Bible is not ours\nto take or to allow liberties with. We have no right to change even a\ntittle of it. When it comes to life we are ready to do, to suffer, to\nforgive anything our opponents demand as long as faith and doctrine\nremain pure and uncorrupt. The Apostle James says, \u201cFor whosoever shall\nkeep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.\u201d\nThis passage supports us over against our critics who claim that we\ndisregard all charity to the great injury of the churches. We protest we\ndesire nothing more than peace with all men. If they would only permit\nus to keep our doctrine of faith! The pure doctrine takes precedence\nbefore charity, apostles, or an angel from heaven.\n\nLet others praise charity and concord to the skies; we magnify the\nauthority of the Word and faith. Charity may be neglected at times\nwithout peril, but not the Word and faith. Charity suffers all things,\nit gives in. Faith suffers nothing; it never yields. Charity is often\ndeceived but is never put out because it has nothing to lose; it\ncontinues to do well even to the ungrateful. When it comes to faith\nand salvation in the midst of lies and errors that parade as truth and\ndeceive many, charity has no voice or vote. Let us not be influenced\nby the popular cry for charity and unity. If we do not love God and His\nWord what difference does it make if we love anything at all?\n\nPaul, therefore, admonishes both teachers and hearers not to esteem\nlightly the doctrine of faith as if it were a toy with which to amuse\noneself in idle hours.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. l have confidence in you through the Lord.\n\n\u201cI have taught, admonished, and reproved you enough. I hope the best for\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe question occurs to us whether Paul did well to trust the Galatians.\nDoes not Holy Writ forbid us to trust in men? Faith trusts in God and is\nnever wrong. Charity trusts in men and is often wrong. This charitable\ntrust in man is necessary to life. Without it life would be impossible\nin the world. What kind of life would ours be if nobody could trust\nanybody else? True Christians are more ready to believe in men than the\nchildren of this world. Such charitable confidence is the fruit of the\nSpirit. Paul had such trust in the Galatians although they had forsaken\nhis doctrine. He trusts them \u201cthrough the Lord,\u201d insofar as they were in\nChrist and Christ in them. Once they had forsaken Christ altogether, the\nApostle will trust the Galatians no longer.\n\n\n  VERSE 10. That ye will be none otherwise minded.\n\n\u201cNot minded otherwise than I have taught you. In other words, I have\nconfidence that you will accept no doctrine that is contrary to the one\nyou have learned from me.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 10. But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever\n  he be.\n\nPaul assumes the role of a judge and condemns the false apostles as\ntroublers of the Galatians. He wants to frighten the Galatians with his\nsevere judgments of the false apostles into avoiding false doctrine like\na contagious disease. We can hear him say to the Galatians: \u201cWhy do you\ngive these pestilent fellows a hearing in the first place? They only\ntrouble you. The doctrine they bring causes your conscience only\ntrouble.\u201d\n\nThe clause, \u201cwhosoever he be,\u201d seems to indicate that the false apostles\nin outward appearance at least were very good and devout men. It may be\nthat among them was some outstanding disciple of the apostles, a man\nof fame and authority. The Apostle must have been faced by this very\nsituation, otherwise his vehemence would have been uncalled for. No\ndoubt many of the Galatians were taken back with the vehemency of the\nApostle. They perhaps thought: why should he be so stubborn in such\nsmall matters? Why is he so quick to pronounce damnation upon his\nbrethren in the ministry?\n\nI cannot say it often enough, that we must carefully differentiate\nbetween doctrine and life. Doctrine is a piece of heaven, life is a\npiece of earth. Life is sin, error, uncleanness, misery, and charity\nmust forbear, believe, hope, and suffer all things. Forgiveness of\nsins must be continuous so that sin and error may not be defended and\nsustained. But with doctrine there must be no error, no need of pardon.\nThere can be no comparison between doctrine and life. The least little\npoint of doctrine is of greater importance than heaven and earth.\nTherefore we cannot allow the least jot of doctrine to be corrupted.\nWe may overlook the offenses and errors of life, for we daily sin much.\nEven the saints sin, as they themselves confess in the Lord\u2019s Prayer and\nin the Creed. But our doctrine, God be praised, is pure, because all the\narticles of our faith are grounded on the Holy Scriptures.\n\n\n  VERSE 11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet\n  suffer persecution? then is the offense of the cross ceased.\n\nIn his great desire to recall the Galatians, Paul draws himself into\nthe argument. He says: \u201cBecause I refuse to recognize circumcision as\na factor in our salvation, I have brought upon myself the hatred and\npersecution of my whole nation. If I were to acknowledge circumcision\nthe Jews would cease to persecute me; in fact they would love and praise\nme. But because I preach the Gospel of Christ and the righteousness of\nfaith I must suffer persecution. The false apostles know how to avoid\nthe Cross and the deadly hatred of the Jewish nation. They preach\ncircumcision and thus retain the favor of the Jews. If they had their\nway they would ignore all differences in doctrine and preserve unity at\nall cost. But their unionistic dreams cannot be realized without loss\nto the pure doctrine of the Cross. It would be too bad if the offense\nof the Cross were to cease.\u201d To the Corinthians he expressed the same\nconviction: \u201cChrist sent me...to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of\nwords, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.\u201d (I Cor.\n1:17.)\n\nHere someone may be tempted to call the Christians crazy. Deliberately\nto court danger by preaching and confessing the truth, and thus to bring\nupon ourselves the hatred and enmity of the whole world, is this not\nmadness? But Paul does not mind the enmity of the world. It made him all\nthe bolder to confess Christ. The enmity of the world in his estimation\naugurs well for the success and growth of the Church, which fares best\nin times of persecution. When the offense of the Cross ceases, when the\nrage of the enemies of the Cross abates, when everything is quiet, it is\na sign that the devil is the door-keeper of the Church and that the pure\ndoctrine of God\u2019s Word has been lost.\n\nSaint Bernard observed that the Church is in best shape when Satan\nassaults it on every side by trickery and violence; and in worst shape\nwhen it is at peace. In support of his statement he quotes the passage\nfrom the song of Hezekiah: \u201cBehold, for peace I had great bitterness.\u201d\nPaul looks with suspicion upon any doctrine that does not provoke\nantagonism.\n\nPersecution always follows on the heels of the Word of God as the\nPsalmist experienced. \u201cI believe, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly\nafflicted.\u201d (Ps. 116:10.) The Christians are accused and slandered\nwithout mercy. Murderers and thieves receive better treatment than\nChristians. The world regards true Christians as the worst offenders,\nfor whom no punishment can be too severe. The world hates the Christians\nwith amazing brutality, and without compunction commits them to the most\nshameful death, congratulating itself that it has rendered God and the\ncause of peace a distinct service by ridding the world of the undesired\npresence of these Christians. We are not to let such treatment cause\nus to falter in our adherence to Christ. As long as we experience such\npersecutions we know all is well with the Gospel.\n\nJesus held out the same comfort to His disciples in the fifth chapter\nof St. Matthew. \u201cBlessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute\nyou, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.\nRejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven.\u201d The\nChurch must not come short of this joy. I would not want to be at peace\nwith the pope, the bishops, the princes, and the sectarians, unless they\nconsent to our doctrine. Unity with them would be an unmistakable sign\nthat we have lost the true doctrine. Briefly, as long as the Church\nproclaims the doctrine she must suffer persecution, because the Gospel\ndeclares the mercy and glory of God. This in turn stirs up the devil,\nbecause the Gospel shows him up for what he is, the devil, and not\nGod. Therefore as long as the Gospel holds sway persecution plays the\naccompaniment, or else there is something the matter with the devil.\nWhen he is hit you will know it by the havoc he raises everywhere.\n\nSo do not be surprised or offended when hell breaks loose. Look upon it\nas a happy indication that all is well with the Gospel of the Cross. God\nforbid that the offense of the Cross should ever be removed. This would\nbe the case if we were to preach what the prince of this world and his\nfollowers would be only too glad to hear, the righteousness of works.\nYou would never know the devil could be so gentle, the world so sweet,\nthe Pope so gracious, and the princes so charming. But because we seek\nthe advantage and honor of Christ, they persecute us all around.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.\n\nIt hardly seems befitting an apostle, not only to denounce the false\napostles as troublers of the Church, and to consign them to the devil,\nbut also to wish that they were utterly cut off--what else would you\ncall it but plain cursing? Paul, I suppose, is alluding to the rite of\ncircumcision. As if he were saying to the Galatians: \u201cThe false apostles\ncompel you to cut off the foreskin of your flesh. Well, I wish they\nthemselves were utterly cut off by the roots.\u201d\n\nWe had better answer at once the question, whether it is right for\nChristians to curse. Certainly not always, nor for every little cause.\nBut when things have come to such a pass that God and His Word are\nopenly blasphemed, then we must say: \u201cBlessed be God and His Word, and\ncursed be everything that is contrary to God and His Word, even though\nit should be an apostle, or an angel from heaven.\u201d\n\nThis goes to show again how much importance Paul attached to the least\npoints of Christian doctrine, that he dared to curse the false apostles,\nevidently men of great popularity and influence. What right, then, have\nwe to make little of doctrine? No matter how nonessential a point of\ndoctrine may seem, if slighted it may prove the gradual disintegration\nof the truths of our salvation.\n\nLet us do everything to advance the glory and authority of God\u2019s Word.\nEvery tittle of it is greater than heaven and earth. Christian charity\nand unity have nothing to do with the Word of God. We are bold to curse\nand condemn all men who in the least point corrupt the Word of God, \u201cfor\na little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.\u201d\n\nPaul does right to curse these troublers of the Galatians, wishing that\nthey were cut off and rooted out of the Church of God and that their\ndoctrine might perish forever. Such cursing is the gift of the Holy\nGhost. Thus Peter cursed Simon the sorcerer, \u201cThy money perish with\nthee.\u201d Many instances of this holy cursing are recorded in the sacred\nScriptures, especially in the Psalms, e.g., \u201cLet death seize upon them,\nand let them go down quick into hell.\u201d (Ps. 55:15.)\n\n                         THE DOCTRINE OF GOOD WORKS\n\nNow come all kinds of admonitions and precepts. It was the custom of the\napostles that after they had taught faith and instructed the conscience\nthey followed it up with admonitions unto good works, that the believers\nmight manifest the duties of love toward each other. In order to avoid\nthe appearance as if Christianity militated against good works or\nopposed civil government, the Apostle also urges us to give ourselves\nunto good works, to lead an honest life, and to keep faith and love with\none another. This will give the lie to the accusations of the world that\nwe Christians are the enemies of decency and of public peace. The fact\nis we Christians know better what constitutes a truly good work than all\nthe philosophers and legislators of the world because we link believing\nwith doing.\n\n\n  VERSE 13. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not\nliberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.\n\nIn other words: \u201cYou have gained liberty through Christ, i.e., You are\nabove all laws as far as conscience is concerned. You are saved. Christ\nis your liberty and life. Therefore law, sin, and death may not hurt\nyou or drive you to despair. This is the constitution of your priceless\nliberty. Now take care that you do not use your wonderful liberty for an\noccasion of the flesh.\u201d\n\nSatan likes to turn this liberty which Christ has gotten for us into\nlicentiousness. Already the Apostle Jude complained in his day: \u201cThere\nare certain men crept in unawares...turning the grace of our God into\nlasciviousness.\u201d (Jude 4.) The flesh reasons: \u201cIf we are without the\nlaw, we may as well indulge ourselves. Why do good, why give alms, why\nsuffer evil when there is no law to force us to do so?\u201d\n\nThis attitude is common enough. People talk about Christian liberty and\nthen go and cater to the desires of covetousness, pleasure, pride, envy,\nand other vices. Nobody wants to fulfill his duties. Nobody wants to\nhelp out a brother in distress. This sort of thing makes me so impatient\nat times that I wish the swine who trampled precious pearls under foot\nwere back once again under the tyranny of the Pope. You cannot wake up\nthe people of Gomorrah with the gospel of peace.\n\nEven we creatures of the world do not perform our duties as zealously in\nthe light of the Gospel as we did before in the darkness of ignorance,\nbecause the surer we are of the liberty purchased for us by Christ, the\nmore we neglect the Word, prayer, well-doing, and suffering. If Satan\nwere not continually molesting us with trials, with the persecution of\nour enemies, and the ingratitude of our brethren, we would become so\ncareless and indifferent to all good works that in time we would lose\nour faith in Christ, resign the ministry of the Word, and look for an\neasier life. Many of our ministers are beginning to do that very thing.\nThey complain about the ministry, they maintain they cannot live on\ntheir salaries, they whimper about the miserable treatment they receive\nat the hand of those whom they delivered from the servitude of the law\nby the preaching of the Gospel. These ministers desert our poor and\nmaligned Christ, involve themselves in the affairs of the world, seek\nadvantages for themselves and not for Christ. With what results they\nshall presently find out.\n\nSince the devil lies in ambush for those in particular who hate the\nworld, and seeks to deprive us of our liberty of the spirit or to\nbrutalize it into the liberty of the flesh, we plead with our brethren\nafter the manner of Paul, that they may never use this liberty of the\nspirit purchased for us by Christ as an excuse for carnal living, or as\nPeter expresses it, I Peter 2:16, \u201cfor a cloak of maliciousness.\u201d\n\nIn order that Christians may not abuse their liberty the Apostle\nencumbers them with the rule of mutual love that they should serve\neach other in love. Let everybody perform the duties of his station and\nvocation diligently and help his neighbor to the limit of his capacity.\n\nChristians are glad to hear and obey this teaching of love. When others\nhear about this Christian liberty of ours they at once infer, \u201cIf I am\nfree, I may do what I like. If salvation is not a matter of doing why\nshould we do anything for the poor?\u201d In this crude manner they turn the\nliberty of the spirit into wantonness and licentiousness. We want them\nto know, however, that if they use their lives and possessions after\ntheir own pleasure, if they do not help the poor, if they cheat their\nfellow-men in business and snatch and scrape by hook and by crook\neverything they can lay their hands on, we want to tell them that they\nare not free, no matter how much they think they are, but they are the\ndirty slaves of the devil, and are seven times worse than they ever were\nas the slaves of the Pope.\n\nAs for us, we are obliged to preach the Gospel which offers to all men\nliberty from the Law, sin, death, and God\u2019s wrath. We have no right\nto conceal or revoke this liberty proclaimed by the Gospel. And so we\ncannot do anything with the swine who dive headlong into the filth of\nlicentiousness. We do what we can, we diligently admonish them to love\nand to help their fellow-men. If our admonitions bear no fruit, we\nleave them to God, who will in His own good time take care of these\ndisrespecters of His goodness. In the meanwhile we comfort ourselves\nwith the thought that our labors are not lost upon the true believers.\nThey appreciate this spiritual liberty and stand ready to serve others\nin love and, though their number is small, the satisfaction they give\nus far outweighs the discouragement which we receive at the hands of the\nlarge number of those who misuse this liberty.\n\nPaul cannot possibly be misunderstood for he says: \u201cBrethren, ye have\nbeen called unto liberty.\u201d In order that nobody might mistake the\nliberty of which he speaks for the liberty of the flesh, the Apostle\nadds the explanatory note, \u201conly use not liberty for an occasion to the\nflesh, but by love serve one another.\u201d Paul now explains at the hand of\nthe Ten Commandments what it means to serve one another in love.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou\n  shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\n\nIt is customary with Paul to lay the doctrinal foundation first and then\nto build on it the gold, silver, and gems of good deeds. Now there is\nno other foundation than Jesus Christ. Upon this foundation the\nApostle erects the structure of good works which he defines in this one\nsentence: \u201cThou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\u201d\n\nIn adding such precepts of love the Apostle embarrasses the false\napostles very much, as if he were saying to the Galatians: \u201cI have\ndescribed to you what spiritual life is. Now I will also teach you what\ntruly good works are. I am doing this in order that you may understand\nthat the silly ceremonies of which the false apostles make so much are\nfar inferior to the works of Christian love.\u201d This is the hall-mark of\nall false teachers, that they not only pervert the pure doctrine but\nalso fail in doing good. Their foundation vitiated, they can only build\nwood, hay, and stubble. Oddly enough, the false apostles who were such\nearnest champions of good works never required the work of charity, such\nas Christian love and the practical charity of a helpful tongue, hand,\nand heart. Their only requirement was that circumcision, days, months,\nyears, and times should be observed. They could not think of any other\ngood works.\n\nThe Apostle exhorts all Christians to practice good works after they\nhave embraced the pure doctrine of faith, because even though they have\nbeen justified they still have the old flesh to refrain them from doing\ngood. Therefore it becomes necessary that sincere preachers cultivate\nthe doctrine of good works as diligently as the doctrine of faith, for\nSatan is a deadly enemy of both. Nevertheless faith must come first\nbecause without faith it is impossible to know what a God-pleasing deed\nis.\n\nLet nobody think that he knows all about this commandment, \u201cThou shalt\nlove thy neighbour as thyself.\u201d It sounds short and easy, but show me\nthe man who can teach, learn, and do this commandment perfectly. None\nof us heed, or urge, or practice this commandment properly. Though\nthe conscience hurts when we fail to fulfill this commandment in every\nrespect we are not overwhelmed by our failure to bear our neighbor\nsincere and brotherly love.\n\nThe words, \u201cfor all the law is fulfilled in one word,\u201d entail a\ncriticism of the Galatians. \u201cYou are so taken up by your superstitions\nand ceremonies that serve no good purpose, that you neglect the most\nimportant thing, love.\u201d St. Jerome says: \u201cWe wear our bodies out with\nwatching, fasting, and labor and neglect charity, the queen of all good\nworks.\u201d Look at the monks, who meticulously fast, watch, etc. To skip\nthe least requirement of their order would be a crime of the first\nmagnitude. At the same time they blithely ignored the duties of charity\nand hated each other to death. That is no sin, they think.\n\nThe Old Testament is replete with examples that indicate how much God\nprizes charity. When David and his companions had no food with which\nto still their hunger they ate the showbread which lay-people were\nforbidden to eat. Christ\u2019s disciples broke the Sabbath law when they\nplucked the ears of corn. Christ himself broke the Sabbath (as the Jews\nclaimed) by healing the sick on the Sabbath. These incidents indicate\nthat love ought to be given consideration above all laws and ceremonies.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word.\n\nWe can imagine the Apostle saying to the Galatians: \u201cWhy do you get so\nworked up over ceremonies, meats, days, places, and such things? Leave\noff this foolishness and listen to me. The whole Law is comprehended in\nthis one sentence, \u2018Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\u2019 God is\nnot particularly interested in ceremonies, nor has He any use for them.\nThe one thing He requires of you is that you believe in Christ whom\nHe hath sent. If in addition to faith, which comes first as the most\nacceptable service unto God, you want to add laws, then you want to know\nthat all laws are comprehended in this short commandment, \u2018Thou shalt\nlove thy neighbour as thyself.\u2019\u201d\n\nPaul knows how to explain the law of God. He condenses all the laws of\nMoses into one brief sentence. Reason takes offense at the brevity with\nwhich Paul treats the Law. Therefore reason looks down upon the doctrine\nof faith and its truly good works. To serve one another in love, i.e.,\nto instruct the erring, to comfort the afflicted, to raise the\nfallen, to help one\u2019s neighbor in every possible way, to bear with his\ninfirmities, to endure hardships, toil, ingratitude in the Church and\nin the world, and on the other hand to obey government, to honor one\u2019s\nparents, to be patient at home with a nagging wife and an unruly family,\nthese things are not at all regarded as good works. The fact is, they\nare such excellent works that the world cannot possibly estimate them at\ntheir true value.\n\nIt is tersely spoken: \u201cLove thy neighbour as thyself.\u201d But what more\nneeds to be said? You cannot find a better or nearer example than\nyour own. If you want to know how you ought to love your neighbor, ask\nyourself how much you love yourself. If you were to get into trouble or\ndanger, you would be glad to have the love and help of all men. You\ndo not need any book of instructions to teach you how to love your\nneighbor. All you have to do is to look into your own heart, and it will\ntell you how you ought to love your neighbor as yourself.\n\nMy neighbor is every person, especially those who need my help, as\nChrist explained in the tenth chapter of Luke. Even if a person has done\nme some wrong, or has hurt me in any way, he is still a human being with\nflesh and blood. As long as a person remains a human being, so long is\nhe to be an object of our love.\n\nPaul therefore urges his Galatians and, incidentally, all believers\nto serve each other in love. \u201cYou Galatians do not have to accept\ncircumcision. If you are so anxious to do good works, I will tell you in\none word how you can fulfill all laws. \u2018By love serve one another.\u2019 You\nwill never lack people to whom you may do good. The world is full of\npeople who need your help.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 15. But if ye bite and devour one another take heed that ye be\n  not consumed one of another.\n\nWhen faith in Christ is overthrown peace and unity come to an end in the\nchurch. Diverse opinions and dissensions about doctrine and life spring\nup, and one member bites and devours the other, i.e., they condemn each\nother until they are consumed. To this the Scriptures and the experience\nof all times bear witness. The many sects at present have come into\nbeing because one sect condemns the other. When the unity of the spirit\nhas been lost there can be no agreement in doctrine or life. New errors\nmust appear without measure and without end.\n\nFor the avoidance of discord Paul lays down the principle: \u201cLet every\nperson do his duty in the station of life into which God has called\nhim. No person is to vaunt himself above others or find fault with the\nefforts of others while lauding his own. Let everybody serve in love.\u201d\n\nIt is not an easy matter to teach faith without works, and still to\nrequire works. Unless the ministers of Christ are wise in handling the\nmysteries of God and rightly divide the word, faith and good works may\neasily be confused. Both the doctrine of faith and the doctrine of good\nworks must be diligently taught, and yet in such a way that both the\ndoctrines stay within their God-given sphere. If we only teach works, as\nour opponents do, we shall lose the faith. If we only teach faith people\nwill come to think that good works are superfluous.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not\n  fulfill the lust of the flesh.\n\n\u201cI have not forgotten what I told you about faith in the first part of\nmy letter. Because I exhort you to mutual love you are not to think that\nI have gone back on my teaching of justification by faith alone. I\nam still of the same opinion. To remove every possibility for\nmisunderstanding I have added this explanatory note: \u2018Walk in the\nSpirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.\u2019\u201d\n\nWith this verse Paul explains how he wants this sentence to be\nunderstood: \u201cBy love serve one another. When I bid you to love one\nanother, this is what I mean and require, \u2018Walk in the Spirit.\u2019 I know\nvery well you will not fulfill the Law, because you are sinners as long\nas you live. Nevertheless, you should endeavor to walk in the spirit,\u201d\ni.e., fight against the flesh and follow the lead of the Holy Ghost.\n\nIt is quite apparent that Paul had not forgotten the doctrine of\njustification, for in bidding the Galatians to walk in the Spirit he at\nthe same time denies that good works can justify. \u201cWhen I speak of the\nfulfilling of the Law I do not mean to say that you are justified by the\nLaw. All I mean to say is that you should take the Spirit for your guide\nand resist the flesh. That is the most you shall ever be able to do.\nObey the Spirit and fight against the flesh.\u201d\n\n\n   VERSE 16. And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.\n\nThe lust of the flesh is not altogether extinct in us. It rises up again\nand again and wrestles with the Spirit. No flesh, not even that of the\ntrue believer, is so completely under the influence of the Spirit that\nit will not bite or devour, or at least neglect, the commandment of\nlove. At the slightest provocation it flares up, demands to be revenged,\nand hates a neighbor like an enemy, or at least does not love him as\nmuch as he ought to be loved.\n\nTherefore the Apostle establishes this rule of love for the believers.\nServe one another in love. Bear the infirmities of your brother. Forgive\none another. Without such bearing and forbearing, giving and forgiving,\nthere can be no unity because to give and to take offense are\nunavoidably human.\n\nWhenever you are angry with your brother for any cause, repress your\nviolent emotions through the Spirit. Bear with his weakness and love\nhim. He does not cease to be your neighbor or brother because he\noffended you. On the contrary, he now more than ever before requires\nyour loving attention.\n\nThe scholastics take the lust of the flesh to mean carnal lust. True,\nbelievers too are tempted with carnal lust. Even the married are not\nimmune to carnal lusts. Men set little value upon that which they have\nand covet what they have not, as the poet says:\n\n  \u201cThe things most forbidden we always desire, And things most denied\n   we seek to acquire.\u201d\n\nI do not deny that the lust of the flesh includes carnal lust. But\nit takes in more. It takes in all the corrupt desires with which the\nbelievers are more or less infected, as pride, hatred, covetousness,\nimpatience. Later on Paul enumerates among the works of the flesh even\nidolatry and heresy. The apostle\u2019s meaning is clear. \u201cI want you to love\none another. But you do not do it. In fact you cannot do it, because of\nyour flesh. Hence we cannot be justified by deeds of love. Do not for\na moment think that I am reversing myself on my stand concerning faith.\nFaith and hope must continue. By faith we are justified, by hope we\nendure to the end. In addition we serve each other in love because true\nfaith is not idle. Our love, however, is faulty. In bidding you to\nwalk in the Spirit I indicate to you that our love is not sufficient to\njustify us. Neither do I demand that you should get rid of the flesh,\nbut that you should control and subdue it.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 17. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit\n  against the flesh.\n\nWhen Paul declares that \u201cthe flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the\nSpirit against the flesh,\u201d he means to say that we are not to think,\nspeak or do the things to which the flesh incites us. \u201cI know,\u201d he says,\n\u201cthat the flesh courts sin. The thing for you to do is to resist the\nflesh by the Spirit. But if you abandon the leadership of the Spirit for\nthat of the flesh, you are going to fulfill the lust of the flesh and\ndie in your sins.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 17. And these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye\n  cannot do the things that ye would.\n\nThese two leaders, the flesh and the Spirit, are bitter opponents. Of\nthis opposition the Apostle writes in the seventh chapter of the Epistle\nto the Romans: \u201cI see another law in my members, warring against the law\nof my mind, and bringing me into the captivity to the law of sin which\nis in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from\nthe body of this death?\u201d\n\nThe scholastics are at a loss to understand this confession of Paul and\nfeel obliged to save his honor. That the chosen vessel of Christ should\nhave had the law of sin in his members seems to them incredible and\nabsurd. They circumvent the plain-spoken statement of the Apostle\nby saying that he was speaking for the wicked. But the wicked never\ncomplain of inner conflicts, or of the captivity of sin. Sin has its\nunrestricted way with them. This is Paul\u2019s very own complaint and the\nidentical complaint of all believers.\n\nPaul never denied that he felt the lust of the flesh. It is likely that\nat times he felt even the stirrings of carnal lust, but there is no\ndoubt that he quickly suppressed them. And if at any time he felt angry\nor impatient, he resisted these feelings by the Spirit. We are not going\nto stand by idly and see such a comforting statement as this explained\naway. The scholastics, monks, and others of their ilk fought only\nagainst carnal lust and were proud of a victory which they never\nobtained. In the meanwhile they harbored within their breasts pride,\nhatred, disdain, self-trust, contempt of the Word of God, disloyalty,\nblasphemy, and other lusts of the flesh. Against these sins they never\nfought because they never took them for sins.\n\nChrist alone can supply us with perfect righteousness. Therefore we must\nalways believe and always hope in Christ. \u201cWhosoever believeth shall not\nbe ashamed.\u201d (Rom. 9:33.)\n\nDo not despair if you feel the flesh battling against the Spirit or if\nyou cannot make it behave. For you to follow the guidance of the\nSpirit in all things without interference on the part of the flesh is\nimpossible. You are doing all you can if you resist the flesh and do not\nfulfill its demands.\n\nWhen I was a monk I thought I was lost forever whenever I felt an\nevil emotion, carnal lust, wrath, hatred, or envy. I tried to quiet my\nconscience in many ways, but it did not work, because lust would always\ncome back and give me no rest. I told myself: \u201cYou have permitted this\nand that sin, envy, impatience, and the like. Your joining this holy\norder has been in vain, and all your good works are good for nothing.\u201d\nIf at that time I had understood this passage, \u201cThe flesh lusteth\nagainst the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh,\u201d I could have\nspared myself many a day of self-torment. I would have said to myself:\n\u201cMartin, you will never be without sin, for you have flesh. Despair not,\nbut resist the flesh.\u201d\n\nI remember how Doctor Staupitz used to say to me: \u201cI have promised God\na thousand times that I would become a better man, but I never kept my\npromise. From now on I am not going to make any more vows. Experience\nhas taught me that I cannot keep them. Unless God is merciful to me for\nChrist\u2019s sake and grants unto me a blessed departure, I shall not be\nable to stand before Him.\u201d His was a God-pleasing despair. No true\nbeliever trusts in his own righteousness, but says with David, \u201cEnter\nnot into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall no man\nliving be justified.\u201d (Ps. 143:2) Again, \u201cIf thou, Lord, shouldest mark\niniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?\u201d (Ps. 130:3.)\n\nNo man is to despair of salvation just because he is aware of the lust\nof the flesh. Let him be aware of it so long as he does not yield to it.\nThe passion of lust, wrath, and other vices may shake him, but they are\nnot to get him down. Sin may assail him, but he is not to welcome it.\nYes, the better Christian a man is, the more he will experience the heat\nof the conflict. This explains the many expressions of regret in the\nPsalms and in the entire Bible. Everybody is to determine his peculiar\nweakness and guard against it. Watch and wrestle in spirit against your\nweakness. Even if you cannot completely overcome it, at least you ought\nto fight against it.\n\nAccording to this description a saint is not one who is made of wood and\nnever feels any lusts or desires of the flesh. A true saint confesses\nhis righteousness and prays that his sins may be forgiven. The whole\nChurch prays for the forgiveness of sins and confesses that it believes\nin the forgiveness of sins. If our antagonists would read the Scriptures\nthey would soon discover that they cannot judge rightly of anything,\neither of sin or of holiness.\n\n\n  VERSE 18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.\n\nHere someone may object: \u201cHow come we are not under the law? You\nyourself say, Paul, that we have the flesh which wars against the\nSpirit, and brings us into subjection.\u201d\n\nBut Paul says not to let it trouble us. As long as we are led by the\nSpirit, and are willing to obey the Spirit who resists the flesh, we are\nnot under the Law. True believers are not under the Law. The Law cannot\ncondemn them although they feel sin and confess it.\n\nGreat then is the power of the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, the Law cannot\ncondemn the believer though he commits real sin. For Christ in whom\nwe believe is our righteousness. He is without sin, and the Law cannot\naccuse Him. As long as we cling to Him we are led by the Spirit and are\nfree from the Law. Even as he teaches good works, the Apostle does not\nlose sight of the doctrine of justification, but shows at every turn\nthat it is impossible for us to be justified by works.\n\nThe words, \u201cIf ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law,\u201d\nare replete with comfort. It happens at times that anger, hatred,\nimpatience, carnal desire, fear, sorrow, or some other lust of the flesh\nso overwhelms a man that he cannot shake them off, though he try ever so\nhard. What should he do? Should he despair? God forbid. Let him say to\nhimself: \u201cMy flesh seems to be on a warpath against the Spirit again.\nGo to it, flesh, and rage all you want to. But you are not going to have\nyour way. I follow the leading of the Spirit.\u201d\n\nWhen the flesh begins to cut up the only remedy is to take the sword of\nthe Spirit, the word of salvation, and fight against the flesh. If you\nset the Word out of sight, you are helpless against the flesh. I know\nthis to be a fact. I have been assailed by many violent passions, but as\nsoon as I took hold of some Scripture passage, my temptations left me.\nWithout the Word I could not have helped myself against the flesh.\n\n\n  VERSE 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these.\n\nPaul is saying: \u201cThat none of you may hide behind the plea of ignorance\nI will enumerate first the works of the flesh, and then also the works\nof the Spirit.\u201d\n\nThere were many hypocrites among the Galatians, as there are also among\nus, who pretend to be Christians and talk much about the Spirit, but\nthey walk not according to the Spirit; rather according to the flesh.\nPaul is out to show them that they are not as holy as they like to have\nothers think they are.\n\nEvery period of life has its own peculiar temptations. Not one true\nbeliever whom the flesh does not again and again incite to impatience,\nanger, pride. But it is one thing to be tempted by the flesh, and\nanother thing to yield to the flesh, to do its bidding without fear or\nremorse, and to continue in sin.\n\nChristians also fall and perform the lusts of the flesh. David fell\nhorribly into adultery. Peter also fell grievously when he denied\nChrist. However great these sins were, they were not committed to spite\nGod, but from weakness. When their sins were brought to their attention\nthese men did not obstinately continue in their sin, but repented. Those\nwho sin through weakness are not denied pardon as long as they rise\nagain and cease to sin. There is nothing worse than to continue in sin.\nIf they do not repent, but obstinately continue to fulfill the desires\nof the flesh, it is a sure sign that they are not sincere.\n\nNo person is free from temptations. Some are tempted in one way, others\nin another way. One person is more easily tempted to bitterness and\nsorrow of spirit, blasphemy, distrust, and despair. Another is more\neasily tempted to carnal lust, anger, envy, covetousness. But no matter\nto which sins we are disposed, we are to walk in the Spirit and resist\nthe flesh. Those who are Christ\u2019s own crucify their flesh.\n\nSome of the old saints labored so hard to attain perfection that they\nlost the capacity to feel anything. When I was a monk I often wished\nI could see a saint. I pictured him as living in the wilderness,\nabstaining from meat and drink and living on roots and herbs and cold\nwater. This weird conception of those awesome saints I had gained out\nof the books of the scholastics and church fathers. But we know now\nfrom the Scriptures who the true saints are. Not those who live a single\nlife, or make a fetish of days, meats, clothes, and such things. The\ntrue saints are those who believe that they are justified by the death\nof Christ. Whenever Paul writes to the Christians here and there he\ncalls them the holy children and heirs of God. All who believe in\nChrist, whether male or female, bond or free, are saints; not in view of\ntheir own works, but in view of the merits of God which they appropriate\nby faith. Their holiness is a gift and not their own personal\nachievement.\n\nMinisters of the Gospel, public officials, parents, children, masters,\nservants, etc., are true saints when they take Christ for their wisdom,\nrighteousness, sanctification, and redemption, and when they fulfill\nthe duties of their several vocations according to the standard of God\u2019s\nWord and repress the lust and desires of the flesh by the Spirit. Not\neverybody can resist temptations with equal facility. Imperfections are\nbound to show up. But this does not prevent them from being holy. Their\nunintentional lapses are forgiven if they pull themselves together by\nfaith in Christ. God forbid that we should sit in hasty judgment on\nthose who are weak in faith and life, as long as they love the Word of\nGod and make use of the supper of the Lord.\n\nI thank God that He has permitted me to see (what as a monk I so\nearnestly desired to see) not one but many saints, whole multitudes of\ntrue saints. Not the kind of saints the papists admire, but the kind of\nsaints Christ wants. I am sure I am one of Christ\u2019s true saints. I am\nbaptized. I believe that Christ my Lord has redeemed me from all my\nsins, and invested me with His own eternal righteousness and holiness.\nTo hide in caves and dens, to have a bony body, to wear the hair long\nin the mistaken idea that such departures from normalcy will obtain\nsome special regard in heaven is not the holy life. A holy life is to\nbe baptized and to believe in Christ, and to subdue the flesh with the\nSpirit.\n\nTo feel the lusts of the flesh is not without profit to us. It prevents\nus from being vain and from being puffed up with the wicked opinion of\nour own work-righteousness. The monks were so inflated with the opinion\nof their own righteousness, they thought they had so much holiness\nthat they could afford to sell some of it to others, although their\nown hearts convinced them of unholiness. The Christian feels the unholy\ncondition of his heart, and it makes him feel so low that he cannot\ntrust in his good works. He therefore goes to Christ to find perfect\nrighteousness. This keeps a Christian humble.\n\n\n  VERSES 19, 20. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are\n  these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,\n  witchcraft...\n\nPaul does not enumerate all the works of the flesh, but only certain\nones. First, he mentions various kinds of carnal lusts, as adultery,\nfornication, wantonness, etc. But carnal lust is not the only work of\nthe flesh, and so he counts among the works of the flesh also idolatry,\nwitchcraft, hatred, and the like. These terms are so familiar that they\ndo not require lengthy explanations.\n\n                                  IDOLATRY\n\nThe best religion, the most fervent devotion without Christ is plain\nidolatry. It has been considered a holy act when the monks in their\ncells meditate upon God and His works, and in a religious frenzy kneel\ndown to pray and to weep for joy. Yet Paul calls it simply idolatry.\nEvery religion which worships God in ignorance or neglect of His Word\nand will is idolatry.\n\nThey may think about God, Christ, and heavenly things, but they do it\nafter their own fashion and not after the Word of God. They have an idea\nthat their clothing, their mode of living, and their conduct are holy\nand pleasing to Christ. They not only expect to pacify Christ by the\nstrictness of their life, but also expect to be rewarded by Him for\ntheir good deeds. Hence their best \u201cspiritual\u201d thoughts are wicked\nthoughts. Any worship of God, any religion without Christ is idolatry.\nIn Christ alone is God well pleased.\n\nI have said before that the works of the flesh are manifest. But\nidolatry puts on such a good front and acts so spiritual that the sham\nof it is recognized only by true believers.\n\n                                 WITCHCRAFT\n\nThis sin was very common before the light of the Gospel appeared. When I\nwas a child there were many witches and sorcerers around who \u201cbewitched\u201d\ncattle, and people, particularly children, and did much harm. But now\nthat the Gospel is here you do not hear so much about it because the\nGospel drives the devil away. Now he bewitches people in a worse way\nwith spiritual sorcery.\n\nWitchcraft is a brand of idolatry. As witches used to bewitch cattle and\nmen, so idolaters, i.e., all the self-righteous, go around to bewitch\nGod and to make Him out as one who justifies men not by grace through\nfaith in Christ but by the works of men\u2019s own choosing. They bewitch\nand deceive themselves. If they continue in their wicked thoughts of God\nthey will die in their idolatry.\n\n                                    SECTS\n\nUnder sects Paul here understands heresies. Heresies have always\nbeen found in the church. What unity of faith can exist among all the\ndifferent monks and the different orders? None whatever. There is no\nunity of spirit, no agreement of minds, but great dissension in the\npapacy. There is no conformity in doctrine, faith, and life. On the\nother hand, among evangelical Christians the Word, faith, religion,\nsacraments, service, Christ, God, heart, and mind are common to all.\nThis unity is not disturbed by outward differences of station or of\noccupation.\n\n                            DRUNKENNESS, GLUTTONY\n\nPaul does not say that eating and drinking are works of the flesh, but\nintemperance in eating and drinking, which is a common vice nowadays, is\na work of the flesh. Those who are given to excess are to know that they\nare not spiritual but carnal. Sentence is pronounced upon them that they\nshall not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Paul desires that Christians\navoid drunkenness and gluttony, that they live temperate and sober\nlives, in order that the body may not grow soft and sensual.\n\n\n  VERSE 21. Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in\n  the past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom\n  of God.\n\nThis is a hard saying, but very necessary for those false Christians and\nhypocrites who speak much about the Gospel, about faith, and the Spirit,\nyet live after the flesh. But this hard sentence is directed chiefly at\nthe heretics who are large with their own self-importance, that they may\nbe frightened into taking up the fight of the Spirit against the flesh.\n\n\n  VERSES 22, 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,\n  longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.\n\nThe Apostle does not speak of the works of the Spirit as he spoke of the\nworks of the flesh, but he attaches to these Christian virtues a better\nname. He calls them the fruits of the Spirit.\n\n                                    LOVE\n\nIt would have been enough to mention only the single fruit of love, for\nlove embraces all the fruits of the Spirit. In I Corinthians 13, Paul\nattributes to love all the fruits of the Spirit: \u201cCharity suffereth\nlong, and is kind,\u201d etc. Here he lets love stand by itself among other\nfruits of the Spirit to remind the Christians to love one another, \u201cin\nhonor preferring one another,\u201d to esteem others more than themselves\nbecause they have Christ and the Holy Ghost within them.\n\n                                     JOY\n\nJoy means sweet thoughts of Christ, melodious hymns and psalms, praises\nand thanksgiving, with which Christians instruct, inspire, and refresh\nthemselves. God does not like doubt and dejection. He hates dreary\ndoctrine, gloomy and melancholy thought. God likes cheerful hearts. He\ndid not send His Son to fill us with sadness, but to gladden our hearts.\nFor this reason the prophets, apostles, and Christ Himself urge, yes,\ncommand us to rejoice and be glad. \u201cRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion;\nshout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee.\u201d\n(Zech. 9:9.) In the Psalms we are repeatedly told to be \u201cjoyful in the\nLord.\u201d Paul says: \u201cRejoice in the Lord always.\u201d Christ says: \u201cRejoice,\nfor your names are written in heaven.\u201d\n\n                                    PEACE\n\nPeace towards God and men. Christians are to be peaceful and quiet. Not\nargumentative, not hateful, but thoughtful and patient. There can be no\npeace without longsuffering, and therefore Paul lists this virtue next.\n\n                                LONGSUFFERING\n\nLongsuffering is that quality which enables a person to bear adversity,\ninjury, reproach, and makes them patient to wait for the improvement\nof those who have done him wrong. When the devil finds that he cannot\novercome certain persons by force he tries to overcome them in the long\nrun. He knows that we are weak and cannot stand anything long. Therefore\nhe repeats his temptation time and again until he succeeds. To withstand\nhis continued assaults we must be longsuffering and patiently wait for\nthe devil to get tired of his game.\n\n                                 GENTLENESS\n\nGentleness in conduct and life. True followers of the Gospel must not\nbe sharp and bitter, but gentle, mild, courteous, and soft-spoken, which\nshould encourage others to seek their company. Gentleness can overlook\nother people\u2019s faults and cover them up. Gentleness is always glad to\ngive in to others. Gentleness can get along with forward and difficult\npersons, according to the old pagan saying: \u201cYou must know the manners\nof your friends, but you must not hate them.\u201d Such a gentle person was\nour Savior Jesus Christ, as the Gospel portrays Him. Of Peter it is\nrecorded that he wept whenever he remembered the sweet gentleness of\nChrist in His daily contact with people. Gentleness is an excellent\nvirtue and very useful in every walk of life.\n\n                                  GOODNESS\n\nA person is good when he is willing to help others in their need.\n\n\n                                    FAITH\n\nIn listing faith among the fruits of the Spirit, Paul obviously does not\nmean faith in Christ, but faith in men. Such faith is not suspicious of\npeople but believes the best. Naturally the possessor of such faith will\nbe deceived, but he lets it pass. He is ready to believe all men, but he\nwill not trust all men. Where this virtue is lacking men are suspicious,\nforward, and wayward and will believe nothing nor yield to anybody. No\nmatter how well a person says or does anything, they will find fault\nwith it, and if you do not humor them you can never please them. It is\nquite impossible to get along with them. Such faith in people therefore,\nis quite necessary. What kind of life would this be if one person could\nnot believe another person?\n\n                                  MEEKNESS\n\nA person is meek when he is not quick to get angry. Many things occur in\ndaily life to provoke a person\u2019s anger, but the Christian gets over his\nanger by meekness.\n\n                                 TEMPERANCE\n\nChristians are to lead sober and chaste lives. They should not be\nadulterers, fornicators, or sensualists. They should not be quarrelers\nor drunkards. In the first and second chapters of the Epistle to Titus,\nthe Apostle admonishes bishops, young women, and married folks to be\nchaste and pure.\n\n\n  VERSE 23. Against such there is no law.\n\nThere is a law, of course, but it does not apply to those who bear these\nfruits of the Spirit. The Law is not given for the righteous man. A true\nChristian conducts himself in such a way that he does not need any law\nto warn or to restrain him. He obeys the Law without compulsion. The Law\ndoes not concern him. As far as he is concerned there would not have to\nbe any Law.\n\n\n  VERSE 24. And they that are Christ\u2019s have crucified the flesh with the\n  affections and lusts.\n\nTrue believers are no hypocrites. They crucify the flesh with its evil\ndesires and lusts. Inasmuch as they have not altogether put off the\nsinful flesh they are inclined to sin. They do not fear or love God\nas they should. They are likely to be provoked to anger, to envy, to\nimpatience, to carnal lust, and other emotions. But they will not do the\nthings to which the flesh incites them. They crucify the flesh with its\nevil desires and lusts by fasting and exercise and, above all, by a walk\nin the Spirit.\n\nTo resist the flesh in this manner is to nail it to the Cross. Although\nthe flesh is still alive it cannot very well act upon its desires\nbecause it is bound and nailed to the Cross.\n\n\n  VERSE 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.\nA little while ago the Apostle had condemned those who are envious and\nstart heresies and schisms. As if he had forgotten that he had already\nberated them, the Apostle once more reproves those who provoke and\nenvy others. Was not one reference to them sufficient? He repeats his\nadmonition in order to emphasize the viciousness of pride that had\ncaused all the trouble in the churches of Galatia, and has always caused\nthe Church of Christ no end of difficulties. In his Epistle to Titus\nthe Apostle states that a vainglorious man should not be ordained as a\nminister, for pride, as St. Augustine points out, is the mother of all\nheresies.\n\nNow vainglory has always been a common poison in the world. There is no\nvillage too small to contain someone who wants to be considered wiser or\nbetter than the rest. Those who have been bitten by pride usually stand\nupon the reputation for learning and wisdom. Vainglory is not nearly so\nbad in a private person or even in an official as it is in a minister.\n\nWhen the poison of vainglory gets into the Church you have no idea\nwhat havoc it can cause. You may argue about knowledge, art, money,\ncountries, and the like without doing particular harm. But you cannot\nquarrel about salvation or damnation, about eternal life and eternal\ndeath without grave damage to the Church. No wonder Paul exhorts all\nministers of the Word to guard against this poison. He writes: \u201cIf we\nlive in the Spirit.\u201d Where the Spirit is, men gain new attitudes. Where\nformerly they were vainglorious, spiteful and envious, they now become\nhumble, gentle and patient. Such men seek not their own glory, but\nthe glory of God. They do not provoke each other to wrath or envy, but\nprefer others to themselves.\n\nAs dangerous to the Church as this abominable pride is, yet there is\nnothing more common. The trouble with the ministers of Satan is that\nthey look upon the ministry as a stepping-stone to fame and glory, and\nright there you have the seed for all sorts of dissensions.\n\nBecause Paul knew that the vainglory of the false Apostles had caused\nthe churches of Galatia endless trouble, he makes it his business to\nsuppress this abominable vice. In his absence the false apostles went\nto work in Galatia. They pretended that they had been on intimate terms\nwith the apostles, while Paul had never seen Christ in person or\nhad much contact with the rest of the apostles. Because of this they\ndelivered him, rejected his doctrine, and boosted their own. In this way\nthey troubled the Galatians and caused quarrels among them until they\nprovoked and envied each other; which goes to show that neither the\nfalse apostles nor the Galatians walked after the Spirit, but after the\nflesh.\n\nThe Gospel is not there for us to aggrandize ourselves. The Gospel is\nto aggrandize Christ and the mercy of God. It holds out to men eternal\ngifts that are not gifts of our own manufacture. What right have we to\nreceive praise and glory for gifts that are not of our own making?\n\nNo wonder that God in His special grace subjects the ministers of the\nGospel to all kinds of afflictions, otherwise they could not cope\nwith this ugly beast called vainglory. If no persecution, no cross,\nor reproach trailed the doctrine of the Gospel, but only praise and\nreputation, the ministers of the Gospel would choke with pride. Paul\nhad the Spirit of Christ. Nevertheless there was given unto him the\nmessenger of Satan to buffet him in order that he should not come\nto exalt himself, because of the grandeur of his revelations. St.\nAugustine\u2019s opinion is well taken: \u201cIf a minister of the Gospel is\npraised, he is in danger; if he is despised, he is also in danger.\u201d\n\nThe ministers of the Gospel should be men who are not too easily\naffected by praise or criticism, but simply speak out the benefit and\nthe glory of Christ and seek the salvation of souls.\n\nWhenever you are being praised, remember it is not you who is being\npraised but Christ, to whom all praise belongs. When you preach the\nWord of God in its purity and also live accordingly, it is not your own\ndoing, but God\u2019s doing. And when people praise you, they really mean\nto praise God in you. When you understand this--and you should because\n\u201cwhat hast thou that thou didst not receive?\u201d--you will not flatter\nyourself on the one hand and on the other hand you will not carry\nyourself with the thought of resigning from the ministry when you are\ninsulted, reproached, or persecuted.\n\nIt is really kind of God to send so much infamy, reproach, hatred, and\ncursing our way to keep us from getting proud of the gifts of God in us.\nWe need a millstone around our neck to keep us humble. There are a few\non our side who love and revere us for the ministry of the Word, but for\nevery one of these there are a hundred on the other side who hate and\npersecute us.\n\nThe Lord is our glory. Such gifts as we possess we acknowledge to be\nthe gifts of God, given to us for the good of the Church of Christ.\nTherefore we are not proud because of them. We know that more is\nrequired of them to whom much is given, than of such to whom little is\ngiven. We also know that God is no respecter of persons. A plain factory\nhand who does his work faithfully pleases God just as much as a minister\nof the Word.\n\n\n  VERSE 26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory.\n\nTo desire vainglory is to desire lies, because when one person praises\nanother he tells lies. What is there in anybody to praise? But it is\ndifferent when the ministry is praised. We should not only desire people\nto praise the ministry of the Gospel but also do our utmost to make\nthe ministry worthy of praise because this will make the ministry\nmore effective. Paul warns the Romans not to bring Christianity into\ndisrepute. \u201cLet not then your good be evil spoken of.\u201d (Rom. 14:16.) He\nalso begged the Corinthians to \u201cgive no offense in anything, that the\nministry be not blamed.\u201d (I Cor. 6:3.) When people praise our ministry\nthey are not praising our persons, but God.\n\n\n  VERSE 26. Provoking one another, envying one another.\n\nSuch is the ill effect of vainglory. Those who teach errors provoke\nothers. When others disapprove and reject the doctrine the teachers\nof errors get angry in turn, and then you have strife and trouble. The\nsectarians hate us furiously because we will not approve their errors.\nWe did not attack them directly. We merely called attention to certain\nabuses in the Church. They did not like it and became sore at us,\nbecause it hurt their pride. They wish to be the lone rulers of the\nchurch.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER 6\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are\n  spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.\n\nIF we carefully weigh the words of the Apostle we perceive that he does\nnot speak of doctrinal faults and errors, but of much lesser faults\nby which a person is overtaken through the weakness of his flesh. This\nexplains why the Apostle chooses the softer term \u201cfault.\u201d To minimize\nthe offense still more, as if he meant to excuse it altogether and to\ntake the whole blame away from the person who has committed the fault,\nhe speaks of him as having been \u201covertaken,\u201d seduced by the devil and of\nthe flesh. As if he meant to say, \u201cWhat is more human than for a human\nbeing to fall, to be deceived and to err?\u201d This comforting sentence at\none time saved my life. Because Satan always assails both the purity of\ndoctrine which he endeavors to take away by schisms and the purity\nof life which he spoils with his continual temptations to sin, Paul\nexplains how the fallen should be treated. Those who are strong are to\nraise up the fallen in the spirit of meekness.\n\nThis ought to be borne in mind particularly by the ministers of the Word\nin order that they may not forget the parental attitude which Paul here\nrequires of those who have the keeping of souls. Pastors and ministers\nmust, of course, rebuke the fallen, but when they see that the fallen\nare sorry they are to comfort them by excusing the fault as well as they\ncan. As unyielding as the Holy Spirit is in the matter of maintaining\nand defending the doctrine of faith, so mild and merciful is He toward\nmen for their sins as long as sinners repent.\n\nThe Pope\u2019s synagogue teaches the exact opposite of what the Apostle\ncommands. The clerics are tyrants and butchers of men\u2019s conscience.\nEvery small offense is closely scrutinized. To justify the cruel\ninquisitiveness they quote the statement of Pope Gregory: \u201cIt is the\nproperty of good lives to be afraid of a fault where there is no fault.\u201d\n\u201cOur censors must be feared, even if they are unjust and wrong.\u201d On\nthese pronouncements the papists base their doctrine of excommunication.\nRather than terrify and condemn men\u2019s consciences, they ought to raise\nthem up and comfort them with the truth.\n\nLet the ministers of the Gospel learn from Paul how to deal with those\nwho have sinned. \u201cBrethren,\u201d he says, \u201cif any man be overtaken with a\nfault, do not aggravate his grief, do not scold him, do not condemn\nhim, but lift him up and gently restore his faith. If you see a brother\ndespondent over a sin he has committed, run up to him, reach out your\nhand to him, comfort him with the Gospel and embrace him like a mother.\nWhen you meet a willful sinner who does not care, go after him and\nrebuke him sharply.\u201d But this is not the treatment for one who has been\novertaken by a sin and is sorry. He must be dealt with in the spirit of\nmeekness and not in the spirit of severity. A repentant sinner is not to\nbe given gall and vinegar to drink.\n\n\n  VERSE 1. Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.\nThis consideration is very much needed to put a stop to the severity of\nsome pastors who show the fallen no mercy. St. Augustine says: \u201cThere\nis no sin which one person has committed, that another person may not\ncommit it also.\u201d We stand in slippery places. If we become overbearing\nand neglect our duty, it is easy enough to fall into sin. In the book\nentitled \u201cThe Lives of Our Fathers,\u201d one of the Fathers is reported to\nhave said when informed that a brother had fallen into adultery: \u201cHe\nfell yesterday; I may fall today.\u201d Paul therefore warns the pastors not\nto be too rigorous and unmerciful towards offenders, but to show them\nevery affection, always remembering: \u201cThis man fell into sin; I may fall\ninto worse sin. If those who are always so eager to condemn others would\ninvestigate themselves they would find that the sins of others are motes\nin comparison to their own.\u201d\n\n\u201cWherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\u201d\n(I Cor. 10:12.) If David who was a hero of faith and did so many great\nthings for the Lord, could fall so badly that in spite of his advanced\nage he was overcome by youthful lust after he had withstood so many\ndifferent temptations with which the Lord had tested his faith, who are\nwe to think that we are more stable? These object lessons of God should\nconvince us that of all things God hates pride.\n\n\n  VERSE 2. Bear ye one another\u2019s burdens, and so fulfill the law of\n  Christ.\n\nThe Law of Christ is the Law of love. Christ gave us no other law than\nthis law of mutual love: \u201cA new commandment I give unto you, That ye\nlove one another.\u201d To love means to bear another\u2019s burdens. Christians\nmust have strong shoulders to bear the burdens of their fellow\nChristians. Faithful pastors recognize many errors and offenses in the\nchurch, which they oversee. In civil affairs an official has to overlook\nmuch if he is fit to rule. If we can overlook our own shortcomings\nand wrong-doings, we ought to overlook the shortcomings of others in\naccordance with the words, \u201cBear ye one another\u2019s burdens.\u201d\n\nThose who fail to do so expose their lack of understanding of the law\nof Christ. Love, according to Paul, \u201cbelieveth all things, hopeth all\nthings, endureth all things.\u201d This commandment is not meant for those\nwho deny Christ; neither is it meant for those who continue to live\nin sin. Only those who are willing to hear the Word of God and then\ninadvertently fall into sin to their own great sorrow and regret, carry\nthe burdens which the Apostle encourages us to bear. Let us not be hard\non them. If Christ did not punish them, what right have we to do it?\n\n\n  VERSE 3. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is\n  nothing, he deceiveth himself.\n\nAgain the Apostle takes the authors of sects to task for being\nhard-hearted tyrants. They despise the weak and demand that everything\nbe just so. Nothing suits them except what they do. Unless you eulogize\nwhatever they say or do, unless you adapt yourself to their slightest\nwhim, they become angry with you. They are that way because, as St. Paul\nsays, they \u201cthink themselves to be something,\u201d they think they know all\nabout the Scriptures.\n\nPaul has their number when he calls them zeros. They deceive\nthemselves with their self-suggested wisdom and holiness. They have\nno understanding of Christ or the law of Christ. By insisting that\neverything be perfect they not only fail to bear the burdens of the\nweak, they actually offend the weak by their severity. People begin to\nhate and shun them and refuse to accept counsel or comfort from them.\n\nPaul describes these stiff and ungracious saints accurately when he says\nof them, \u201cThey think themselves to be something.\u201d Bloated by their\nown silly ideas and schemes they entertain a pretty fair opinion of\nthemselves, when in reality they amount to nothing.\n\n\n  VERSE 4. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have\n  rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.\n\nIn this verse the Apostle continues his attack upon the vainglorious\nsectarians. Although this passage may be applied to any work, the\nApostle has in mind particularly the work of the ministry.\n\nThe trouble with these seekers after glory is that they never stop to\nconsider whether their ministry is straightforward and faithful. All\nthey think about is whether people will like and praise them. Theirs is\na threefold sin. First, they are greedy of praise. Secondly, they are\nvery sly and wily in suggesting that the ministry of other pastors\nis not what it should be. By way of contrast they hope to rise in\nthe estimation of the people. Thirdly, once they have established a\nreputation for themselves they become so chesty that they stop short of\nnothing. When they have won the praise of men, pride leads them on to\nbelittle the work of other men and to applaud their own. In this artful\nmanner they hoodwink the people who rather enjoy to see their former\npastors taken down a few notches by such upstarts.\n\n\u201cLet a minister be faithful in his office,\u201d is the apostolic injunction.\n\u201cLet him not seek his own glory or look for praise. Let him desire to\ndo good work and to preach the Gospel in all its purity. Whether an\nungrateful world appreciates his efforts is to give him no concern\nbecause, after all, he is in the ministry not for his own glory but for\nthe glory of Christ.\u201d\n\nA faithful minister cares little what people think of him, as long as\nhis conscience approves of him. The approval of his own good conscience\nis the best praise a minister can have. To know that we have taught the\nWord of God and administered the sacraments rightly is to have a glory\nthat cannot be taken away.\n\nThe glory which the sectarians seek is quite unstable, because it rests\nin the whim of people. If Paul had had to depend on this kind of glory\nfor his ministry he would have despaired when he saw the many offenses\nand evils following in the wake of his preaching.\n\nIf we had to feel that the success of our ministry depended upon our\npopularity with men we would die, because we are not popular. On the\ncontrary, we are hated by the whole world with rare bitterness. Nobody\npraises us. Everybody finds fault with us. But we can glory in the Lord\nand attend to our work cheerfully. Who cares whether our efforts please\nor displease the devil? Who cares whether the world praises or hates us?\nWe go ahead \u201cby honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report.\u201d\n(II Cor. 6:8.)\n\nThe Gospel entails persecution. The Gospel is that kind of a doctrine.\nFurthermore, the disciples of the Gospel are not all dependable. Many\nembrace the Gospel today and tomorrow discard it. To preach the Gospel\nfor praise is bad business especially when people stop praising you.\nFind your praise in the testimony of a good conscience.\n\nThis passage may also be applied to other work besides the ministry.\nWhen an official, a servant, a teacher minds his business and performs\nhis duty faithfully without concerning himself about matters that are\nnot in his line he may rejoice in himself. The best commendation of any\nwork is to know that one has done the work that God has given him well\nand that God is pleased with his effort.\n\n\n  VERSE 5. Every man shall bear his own burden.\n\nThat means: For anybody to covet praise is foolish because the praise of\nmen will be of no help to you in the hour of death. Before the judgment\nthrone of Christ everybody will have to bear his own burden. As it is\nthe praise of men stops when we die. Before the eternal Judge it is not\npraise that counts but your own conscience.\n\nTrue, the consciousness of work well done cannot quiet the conscience.\nBut it is well to have the testimony of a good conscience in the last\njudgment that we have performed our duty faithfully in accordance with\nGod\u2019s will.\n\nFor the suppression of pride we need the strength of prayer. What man\neven if he is a Christian is not delighted with his own praise? Only the\nHoly Spirit can preserve us from the misfortune of pride.\n\n\n  VERSE 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that\n  teacheth in all good things.\n\nNow the Apostle also addresses the hearers of the Word requesting them\nto bestow \u201call good things\u201d upon those who have taught them the Gospel.\nI have often wondered why all the apostles reiterated this request\nwith such embarrassing frequency. In the papacy I saw the people\ngive generously for the erection and maintenance of luxurious church\nbuildings and for the sustenance of men appointed to the idolatrous\nservice of Rome. I saw bishops and priests grow rich until they\npossessed the choicest real estate. I thought then that Paul\u2019s\nadmonitions were overdone. I thought he should have requested the people\nto curtail their contributions. I saw how the generosity of the people\nof the Church was encouraging covetousness on the part of the clergy. I\nknow better now.\n\nAs often as I read the admonitions of the Apostle to the effect that the\nchurches should support their pastors and raise funds for the relief\nof impoverished Christians I am half ashamed to think that the great\nApostle Paul had to touch upon this subject so frequently. In writing to\nthe Corinthians he needed two chapters to impress this matter upon\nthem. I would not want to discredit Wittenberg as Paul discredited the\nCorinthians by urging them at such length to contribute to the relief of\nthe poor. It seems to be a by-product of the Gospel that nobody wants to\ncontribute to the maintenance of the Gospel ministry. When the doctrine\nof the devil is preached people are prodigal in their willing support of\nthose who deceive them.\n\nWe have come to understand why it is so necessary to repeat the\nadmonition of this verse. When Satan cannot suppress the preaching of\nthe Gospel by force he tries to accomplish his purpose by striking the\nministers of the Gospel with poverty. He curtails their income to such\nan extent that they are forced out of the ministry because they cannot\nlive by the Gospel. Without ministers to proclaim the Word of God the\npeople go wild like savage beasts.\n\nPaul\u2019s admonition that the hearers of the Gospel share all good\nthings with their pastors and teachers is certainly in order. To the\nCorinthians he wrote: \u201cIf we have sown unto you spiritual things is it a\ngreat thing if we shall reap your carnal things?\u201d (I Cor. 9:11.) In the\nold days when the Pope reigned supreme everybody paid plenty for masses.\nThe begging friars brought in their share. Commercial priests counted\nthe daily offerings. From these extortions our countrymen are now\ndelivered by the Gospel. You would think they would be grateful for\ntheir emancipation and give generously for the support of the ministry\nof the Gospel and the relief of impoverished Christians. Instead, they\nrob Christ. When the members of a Christian congregation permit their\npastor to struggle along in penury, they are worse than heathen.\n\nBefore very long they are going to suffer for their ingratitude. They\nwill lose their temporal and spiritual possessions. This sin merits the\nseverest punishment. The reason why the churches of Galatia, Corinth,\nand other places were troubled by false apostles was this, that they had\nso little regard for their faithful ministers. You cannot refuse to give\na penny who gives you all good things, even life eternal, and turn around\nand give the devil, the giver of all evil and death eternal, pieces of\ngold, and not be punished for it.\n\nThe words \u201cin all good things\u201d: are not to be understood to mean that\npeople are to give all they have to their ministers, but that they\nshould support them liberally and give them enough to live well.\n\n\n  VERSE 7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked.\n\nThe Apostle is so worked up over this matter that he is not content with\na mere admonition. He utters the threatening words, \u201cGod is not mocked.\u201d\nOur countrymen think it good sport to despise the ministry. They like to\ntreat the ministers like servants and slaves. \u201cBe not deceived,\u201d\nwarns the Apostle, \u201cGod is not mocked.\u201d God will not be mocked in His\nministers. Christ said: \u201cHe that despiseth you, despiseth me.\u201d (Luke\n10:16.) To Samuel God said: \u201cThey have not rejected thee, but they have\nrejected me.\u201d (I Sam. 8:7.) Be careful, you scoffers. God may postpone\nHis punishment for a time, but He will find you out in time, and punish\nyou for despising His servants. You cannot laugh at God. Maybe the\npeople are little impressed by the threats of God, but in the hour of\ntheir death they shall know whom they have mocked. God is not ever going\nto let His ministers starve. When the rich suffer the pangs of hunger\nGod will feed His own servants. \u201cIn the days of famine they shall be\nsatisfied.\u201d (Ps. 37:19.)\n\n\n  VERSE 7. For whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.\n\nThese passages are all meant to benefit us ministers. I must say I do\nnot find much pleasure in explaining these verses. I am made to appear\nas if I am speaking for my own benefit. If a minister preaches on money\nhe is likely to be accused of covetousness. Still people must be told\nthese things that they may know their duty over against their pastors.\nOur Savior says: \u201cEating and drinking such things as they give; for the\nlaborer is worthy of his hire.\u201d (Luke 10:7.) And Paul says elsewhere:\n\u201cDo ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the\nthings of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers\nwith the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they which preach\nthe gospel should live of the gospel.\u201d (I Cor. 9:13, 14.)\n\n\n  VERSE 8. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap\n  corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap\n  everlasting life.\n\nThis simile of sowing and reaping also refers to the proper support\nof ministers. \u201cHe that soweth to the Spirit,\u201d i.e., he that honors the\nministers of God is doing a spiritual thing and will reap everlasting\nlife. \u201cHe that soweth to the flesh,\u201d i.e., he that has nothing left for\nthe ministers of God, but only thinks of himself, that person will reap\nof the flesh corruption, not only in this life but also in the life to\ncome. The Apostle wants to stir up his readers to be generous to their\npastors.\n\nThat the ministers of the Church need support any man with common sense\ncan see. Though this support is something physical the Apostle does\nnot hesitate to call it sowing to the Spirit. When people scrape\nup everything they can lay their hands on and keep everything for\nthemselves the Apostle calls it a sowing to the flesh. He pronounces\nthose who sow to the Spirit blessed for this life and the life to come,\nwhile those who sow to the flesh are accursed now and forever.\n\n\n  VERSE 9. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we\n  shall reap, if we faint not.\n\nThe Apostle intends soon to close his Epistle and therefore repeats once\nmore the general exhortation unto good deeds. He means to say \u201cLet us do\ngood not only to the ministers of the Gospel, but to everybody, and let\nus do it without weariness.\u201d It is easy enough to do good once or twice,\nbut to keep on doing good without getting disgusted with the ingratitude\nof those whom we have benefited, that is not so easy. Therefore the\nApostle does not only admonish us to do good, but to do good untiringly.\nFor our encouragement he adds the promise: \u201cFor in due season we shall\nreap, if we faint not.\u201d \u201cWait for the harvest and then you will reap the\nreward of your sowing to the Spirit. Think of that when you do good and\nthe ingratitude of men will not stop you from doing good.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 10. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all\n  men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.\n\nIn this verse the Apostle summarizes his instructions on the proper\nsupport of the ministers and of the poor. He paraphrases the words of\nChrist: \u201cI must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the\nnight cometh, when no man can work.\u201d (John 9:4.) Our good deeds are to\nbe directed primarily at those who share the Christian faith with us,\n\u201cthe household of faith,\u201d as Paul calls them, among whom the ministers\nrank first as objects of our well doing.\n\n\n  VERSE 11. Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine\n  own hand.\n\nWith these words the Apostle intends to draw the Galatians on. \u201cI\nnever,\u201d he says, \u201cwrote such a long letter with my own hand to any of\nthe other churches.\u201d His other epistles he dictated, and only subscribed\nhis greetings and his signature with his own hand.\n\n\n  VERSE 12. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they\n  constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer\n  persecution for the cross of Christ.\n\nPaul once more scores the false apostles in an effort to draw the\nGalatians away from their false doctrine. \u201cThe teachers you have now do\nnot seek the glory of Christ and the salvation of your souls, but only\ntheir own glory. They avoid the Cross. They do not understand what they\nteach.\u201d\n\nThese three counts against the false apostles are of so serious a nature\nthat no Christian could have fellowship with them. But not all the\nGalatians obeyed the warning of Paul.\n\nThe Apostle\u2019s attack upon the false apostles was not unjustified.\nNeither are our attacks upon the papacy. When we call the Pope the\nAntichrist and his minions an evil brood, we do not slander them. We\nmerely judge them by the touchstone of God\u2019s Word recorded in the first\nchapter of this Epistle: \u201cThough we, or an angel from heaven, preach any\nother gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him\nbe accursed.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 13. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the\n  law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your\n  flesh.\n\nIn other words: \u201cI shall tell you what kind of teachers you have now.\nThey avoid the Cross, they teach no certain truths. They think they are\nperforming the Law, but they are not. They have not the Holy Spirit\nand without Him nobody can keep the Law.\u201d Where the Holy Ghost does not\ndwell in men there dwells an unclean spirit, a spirit that despises God\nand turns every effort at keeping the Law into a double sin.\n\nMark what the Apostle is saying: Those who are circumcised do not\nfulfill the Law. No self-righteous person ever does. To work, pray, or\nsuffer apart from Christ is to work, pray, and to suffer in vain, \u201cfor\nwhatsoever is not of faith is sin.\u201d It does a person no good to be\ncircumcised, to fast, to pray, or to do anything, if in his heart he\ndespises Christ.\n\n\u201cWhy do the false apostles insist that you should be circumcised? Not\nfor the sake of your righteousness,\u201d although they give that impression,\nbut \u201cthat they may glory in your flesh.\u201d Now what sort of an ambition is\nthat? Worst of all, they force circumcision upon you for no other reason\nthan the satisfaction they get out of your submission.\n\n\n  VERSE 14. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our\n  Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n\u201cGod forbid,\u201d says the Apostle, \u201cthat I should glory in anything as\ndangerous as the false apostles glory in because what they glory in is a\npoison that destroys many souls, and I wish it were buried in hell. Let\nthem glory in the flesh if they wish and let them perish in their glory.\nAs for me I glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d He expresses\nthe same sentiment in the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans,\nwhere he says: \u201cWe glory in tribulations\u201d; and in the twelfth chapter of\nthe Second Epistle to the Corinthians: \u201cMost gladly, therefore, will\nl rather glory in my infirmities.\u201d According to these expressions\nthe glory of a Christian consists in tribulations, reproaches, and\ninfirmities.\n\nAnd this is our glory today with the Pope and the whole world\npersecuting us and trying to kill us. We know that we suffer these\nthings not because we are thieves and murderers, but for Christ\u2019s sake\nwhose Gospel we proclaim. We have no reason to complain. The world, of\ncourse, looks upon us as unhappy and accursed creatures, but Christ\nfor whose sake we suffer pronounces us blessed and bids us to rejoice.\n\u201cBlessed are ye,\u201d says He, \u201cwhen men shall revile you, and persecute\nyou, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.\nRejoice, and be exceeding glad.\u201d (Matt. 5:11, 12.)\n\nBy the Cross of Christ is not to be understood here the two pieces of\nwood to which He was nailed, but all the afflictions of the believers\nwhose sufferings are Christ\u2019s sufferings. Elsewhere Paul writes: \u201cWho\nnow rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind\nof the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body\u2019s sake, which is\nthe church.\u201d (Col. 1:24.)\n\nIt is good for us to know this lest we sink into despair when our\nopponents persecute us. Let us bear the cross for Christ\u2019s sake. It will\nease our sufferings and make them light as Christ says, Matthew 11:30,\n\u201cMy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 14. By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.\n\n\u201cThe world is crucified unto me,\u201d means that I condemn the world. \u201cI am\ncrucified unto the world,\u201d means that the world in turn condemns me. I\ndetest the doctrine, the self-righteousness, and the works of the world.\nThe world in turn detests my doctrine and condemns me as a revolutionary\nheretic. Thus the world is crucified unto us and we unto the world.\n\nThe monks imagined the world was crucified unto them when they\nentered the monastery. Not the world, but Christ, is crucified in the\nmonasteries.\n\nIn this verse Paul expresses his hatred of the world. The hatred was\nmutual. As Paul, so we are to despise the world and the devil. With\nChrist on our side we can defy him and say: \u201cSatan, the more you hurt\nme, the more I oppose you.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything,\n  nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.\n\nSince circumcision and uncircumcision are contrary matters we would\nexpect the Apostle to say that one or the other might accomplish some\ngood. But he denies that either of them do any good. Both are of no\nvalue because in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision\navail anything.\n\nReason fails to understand this, \u201cfor the natural man receiveth not\nthe things of the Spirit of God.\u201d (I Cor. 2:14.) It therefore seeks\nrighteousness in externals. However, we learn from the Word of God that\nthere is nothing under the sun that can make us righteous before God and\na new creature except Christ Jesus.\n\nA new creature is one in whom the image of God has been renewed. Such a\ncreature cannot be brought into life by good works, but by Christ alone.\nGood works may improve the outward appearance, but they cannot produce\na new creature. A new creature is the work of the Holy Ghost, who imbues\nour hearts with faith, love, and other Christian virtues, grants us\nthe strength to subdue the flesh and to reject the righteousness of the\nworld.\n\n\n  VERSE 16. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them,\n  and mercy.\n\nThis is the rule by which we ought to live, \u201cthat ye put on the new man,\nwhich after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.\u201d (Eph.\n4:24.) Those who walk after this rule enjoy the favor of God, the\nforgiveness of their sins, and peace of conscience. Should they ever be\novertaken by any sin, the mercy of God supports them.\n\n\n  VERSE 17. From henceforth let no man trouble me.\n\nThe Apostle speaks these words with a certain amount of indignation. \u201cI\nhave preached the Gospel to you in conformity with the revelation which\nI received from Jesus Christ. If you do not care for it, very well.\nTrouble me no more. Trouble me no more.\u201d\n\n\n  VERSE 17. For I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.\n\n\u201cThe marks on my body indicate whose servant I am. If I was anxious to\nplease men, if I approved of circumcision and good works as factors\nin our salvation, if I would take delight in your flesh as the false\napostles do, I would not have these marks on my body. But because I\nam the servant of Jesus Christ and publicly declare that no person can\nobtain the salvation of his soul outside of Christ, I must bear the\nbadge of my Lord. These marks were given to me against my will as\ndecorations from the devil and for no other merit but that I made known\nJesus.\u201d\n\nOf the marks of suffering which he bore in his body the Apostle makes\nfrequent mention in his epistles. \u201cI think,\u201d he says, \u201cthat God hath set\nforth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are\nmade a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.\u201d (I Cor.\n4:9.) Again, \u201cUnto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are\nnaked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; And labour,\nworking with our hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we\nsuffer it; being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the\nworld, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.\u201d (I Cor.\n4:11-13.)\n\n\n  VERSE 18. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your\n  spirit. Amen.\n\nThis is the Apostle\u2019s farewell. He ends his Epistle as he began it by\nwishing the Galatians the grace of God. We can hear him say: \u201cI have\npresented Christ to you, I have pleaded with you, I have reproved you, I\nhave overlooked nothing that I thought might be of benefit to you. All I\ncan do now is to pray that our Lord Jesus Christ would bless my Epistle\nand grant you the guidance of the Holy Ghost.\u201d\n\nThe Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, who gave me the strength and the\ngrace to explain this Epistle and granted you the grace to hear it,\npreserve and strengthen us in faith unto the day of our redemption. To\nHim, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, be glory, world without\nend. Amen.","title":"Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":85728}